Brecon’s St John Ward Councillor has called on Powys County Council to take urgent action to sort out rising homelessness in the town.
The UK Tory Government’s changes to the Local Housing Allowance means that single people under the age of 35 are penalised with a cut to their housing benefit. For Brecon and Radnorshire, this is capped at £45.90 per week - far below the market average for rental properties.
Cllr Dorrance has called on the Cabinet Member for Housing to take action to help rough sleepers find a secure home. The Labour and Co-operative Party Councillor has also asked the Council’s Tackling Poverty Champion to review the effects of the Local Housing Allowance changes on Powys residents and make robust recommendations to the Council’s Cabinet to help tackle rising homelessness.
Cllr Matthew Dorrance said:
“We’ve seen a significant increase in the numbers of rough sleepers in Brecon and I’m calling on the County Council to use its powers to find safe and secure homes for people in need.
“The toxic mixture of Tory austerity and a lack of social housing provision is catapulting too many people into crisis.
“Simply doing nothing while people sleep rough in our communities is not an option. The Council must act now to end this scandal.” More stories