Adam Dance

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Members for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) and for Liverpool Wavertree (Paula Barker) for securing the debate. Since I was elected, housing and homelessness has been the biggest issue that my team have been dealing with in Yeovil. We have had hundreds of cases. I will share a few stories to highlight the impossible situations in which some people find themselves in my constituency, but I will not share their names due to the nature of the cases. One constituent has been homeless since April, after the breakdown of his long-term relationship. As he shared a tenancy with his ex-partner, he was left in a complex legal position. If he removed himself from the tenancy, he risked being labelled purposely homeless, but if he remained on the tenancy, the council would consider him still to have suitable accommodation. After several months, the council accepted a release duty and offered him a placement in shared accommodation. However, he had to decline the offer because of the high level of drug activity at the property—he feared he would relapse. Since then, he has been denied any further housing support. This constituent, as is the case for so many constituents like him, is just trying to get his life back on track, but now he is living in a garage with no access to basic facilities. Unfortunately, there are so many other stories. For example, my office was made aware of a blind woman sleeping rough in Ninesprings park; she was forced out of her home because squatters took possession of it. She would have remained entirely off the radar, with no engagement from local authorities, if a member of the public had not approached her and told her to reach out to my office. A country is only as good as the support it gives to the most vulnerable, and right now we must do more to end homelessness. But homelessness is not just a housing issue. We desperately need to invest more in drug treatment and rehabilitation, and get more mental health hubs in rural communities. We also need more community centres and police officers, to tackle crime and reach out to vulnerable people. Finally, as that last case shows, we must ensure that local authorities’ homelessness relief systems are accessible to those who are visually impaired, neurodiverse or homeless with no access to technology. I ask the Minister to review this matter urgently. Hearing today’s heartbreaking stories, it is difficult not to feel hopeless and powerless. But we are not powerless; we have the power.