The homelessness reduction bill is a piece of token legislation

The Homelessness Reduction Bill proposed by Bob Blackman MP was unanimously voted through Parliament on 28th October 2016. Its proposals originally included expanding the duty of Local Authorities to provide temporary accommodation for households that are homeless and in priority need, to include those households currently deemed to have no priority need but who have a local connection. This duty has since been removed as it was decided that this would overburden already stretched Local Authorities. The Bill in its current form increases the number of days before an eviction notice expires, that a household can be deemed to be threatened with homeless – giving more time to either prevent the impending homelessness or find alternative accommodation. It also seeks to ensure that all homeless people have access to free advice and information, taking into account recent criticism that Local Authorities were offering weak and often useless advice.