Tower Hamlets mayor, Lutfur Rahman announced he would be pausing the revised policy changes during a cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening (September 11) Credit: BBC Local Democracy Reporter Service
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Mayor Lutfur Rahman U-turns on changes to homeless relocation policy following protests

Mayor Rahman has decided to pause changes to a policy which would have given the council the power to place homeless families in temporary accommodation further than a 90-minute journey time from the borough

In July 2024, Mayor Rahman and his Aspire cabinet members approved a revised version of the Homelessness Accommodation Policy which would have removed the 90-minute journey time limit when choosing temporary accommodation for homeless families

The move was the subject of a ‘call in’ by opposition councillors last week (September 2) who called it a ‘terrible policy’ and argued it did not consider the impact it could have on vulnerable families, especially single parents and those with mental health problems. Kabir Ahmed who is a cabinet member for regeneration, inclusive development and housebuilding, said it was ‘not always possible’ to locate families within or near the borough due to affordability and availability issues.

During the call-in last week, Councillor Ahmed said: ‘The homelessness code of conduct guidance guides boroughs to place a household in borough or as close as possible to the borough, this remains the case but it’s not always possible due to affordability and availability. This does not mean every single resident that comes through these doors as homeless will be placed outside of London, it means we will start in Tower Hamlets and then we will move outwards from Tower Hamlets.

‘We will try to house as many people as possible within Tower Hamlets’ neighbouring boroughs as we are doing right now however we also need to keep the option open for good quality homes.’

Marc Francis, one of the Labour councillors behind the call-in, said many families had come to them ‘in fear of what this might mean.’

Councillor Francis argued: ‘The measure to send vulnerable homeless families even further away from Tower Hamlets is premature, unnecessary and doesn’t take proper account of the impact on those families. [The mayor] should reverse his decision, instead, he should instruct officers to focus on some of the additional staff and the procurement and management of temporary accommodation in East, North East and South East London and bring external experts in to secure these homes.’

Under the revised policy, the council had created ‘zones’ to allocate temporary and privately rented sector accommodation for families, which ranged from A to D. A cabinet report at the time said the new zones would allow the council to have ‘greater control’ and transparency when finding accommodation for families.

Zone A was within the London borough of Tower Hamlets, Zone B was within Greater London, while Zone C was for families placed in the Home Counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, and Buckinghamshire. Zone D, the furthest zone, would have placed homeless families in accommodation beyond the Home Counties and over a 90-minute journey time away.

Families were supposed to be allocated accommodation in a zone depending on the age of their children. Those with children in their final year of GCSEs or A-Levels would be placed in temporary accommodation within the borough while families with children in other year groups could have been placed anywhere in London. Families with very young children who aren’t yet in school could have been placed anywhere in the Home Counties.

Labour councillors sitting on the overview and scrutiny committee asked Councillor Ahmed to clarify how far Zone D was planned to be and the maximum distance it would be in terms of miles. Councillor Ahmed responded: ‘Where people will be placed will be much like where they are placed now, but we are looking a little bit afar where needed. That’s the key message.’

He later said he could not ‘definitively’ say how far the council planned to go. The debate was intense and lasted for over an hour, but the revised policy was voted to stay as it was, with Labour and Green councillors outnumbered by councillors from the ruling party Aspire. However, after the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) highlighted the changes in policy last week, concerns were raised by residents and prominent housing campaigners and a protest took place outside Tower Hamlets Town Hall in Whitechapel.

At the beginning of Wednesday evening’s cabinet meeting on September 11th, Mayor Rahman announced he would be ‘suspending the implementation of the proposed change to the Placement Policy’ to allow more time to ‘properly review’ and assess the implications it has on people. ‘As things stand, the 90-minute limit on relocation remains in place,’ he told a packed-out council chamber.

Mayor Rahman said: ‘The Homelessness Placement Policy was a logical area to review, and I want to thank officers for carefully assessing the policy. The main recommendation from the officers from the review was that we removed the 90-minute limit currently imposed on the relocation of individuals and families who are homeless in Tower Hamlets.’

Mayor Rahman went on to say that since the proposed changes to the policy were recommended, ‘two significant things have changed’ and referred to the new Labour government which he said has talked extensively and promisingly about solving the housing crisis.

He added: ‘Second, I am pleased to announce that we have received new data which shows that, over the past year, with focus and dedication, we have reduced the number of families waiting for accommodation in hotels in Tower Hamlets from 43 in October 2023 to just one as of this week. Crucially this progress has been made under the existing policy.’

If you liked this read Concerns after 90-minute journey time policy scrapped for relocated homeless families in Tower Hamlets


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