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04
Jan 2022
Harrogate council receives £85,000 to help residents at risk of eviction
Cash support is to be made available for Harrogate district residents at risk of losing their homes and being forced into homelessness.
Almost £85,000 has been awarded to the area from the government’s Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme which aims to protect people at risk of being on the streets due to rent arrears accumulated during the pandemic.
It marks the first time Harrogate has received cash from the £316 million scheme which is based on local need.
Cllr Mike Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities at Harrogate Borough Council, said:
The funding announcement comes after 29 people in Harrogate were put up in emergency accommodation during 2020 as part of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative which the government had hoped would make big strides in its plan to end homelessness.
But there are now fresh fears that many households could face eviction due to the end of the furlough scheme, Universal Credit cuts and rising living costs during the coronavirus pandemic which has pushed workers across a variety of sectors into precarious circumstances.
Read more:
- Harrogate’s Royal Baths: the council’s under-performing ‘trophy investment’
- Council warns of ‘ financial pressures’ despite government funding
Housing and homelessness charity Shelter recently released figures that show more than 100,000 families across England have received eviction notices or fallen behind on their rent payments in recent months.
It has also estimated that just over 70% of families would struggle to find another home if they lost theirs this winter.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said:
What the funding is for
The latest allocations in the Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme were announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in December.
Councils will use the funding to help people find a new home, access support for unexpected evictions and secure temporary accommodation.
Announcing the latest funding, MP Eddie Hughes, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, said:
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