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Sarah Teather and Brent Liberal DemocratsWorking Hard for Brent |
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Thousands Of Brent Children Face Christmas In Housing Misery - Teather
December 8, 2008 5:48 PM
Local MP Sarah Teather has raised the shocking figures in parliament
Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather has uncovered new figures showing that over 6000 local children are set to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation, more than one in ten in the borough.
Across the whole of the UK, only nearby Haringey has a higher number of children without a permanent home.
Sarah highlighted the new Government figures in a parliamentary debate on temporary housing. The local MP wants to see councils being given the freedom to borrow money to build new homes, just as Housing Associations are.
Blair and Brown promised to provide more social housing when they came to power in 1997. But under Labour, waiting lists have gone up and the number of new homes being built is nowhere near high enough to meet demand. This has trapped thousands of Brent families in temporary housing, with an uncertain future.
Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather said:
"These are devastating figures which reveal the shocking human impact of Brent's housing crisis. Every child deserves a place to call home. Yet many thousands of children here in our borough are set to spend another Christmas in temporary accommodation.
"Every day people come into my local constituency office to ask for help with housing problems. I always do what I can to help and will continue to raise these harrowing stories in parliament until Government ministers start taking the issue seriously.
"Labour came to power promising to build more social housing, but unless Gordon Brown acts quickly his legacy will be one of failure and neglect of some of the poorest children in Brent. The government must urgently give local Councils the power to borrow and build, while land is cheap.
"Poor housing effects a child's health, education and life chances. We must act now to rescue another generation of Brent children from a life of poverty and insecurity."
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