Tower Hamlets Council has suspended its Homelessness Accommodation Placement Policy following protests from campaigners.
The policy aimed to allocate homeless families to accommodation outside London including the home counties.
Protesters gathered outside Tower Hamlets town hall last week (above) holding a banner saying: “Stop Homeless Families Outside of London and Outside of Home Counties”.
🚨HAPPENING NOW: Residents are protesting against the Mayor’s decision to move local homeless families outside of London and outside of the Home Counties 🚨 pic.twitter.com/9pf5a6vIrT
— Tower Hamlets Labour Group (@TH_Labour) September 13, 2024
They claimed the policy could have negatively impacted community members, particularly ethnic minorities, domestic abuse victims, and elderly family members.
The policy is now under review. A published cabinet report stated families would be allocated into four housing zones, from A to D.
Zone A represents the borough of Tower Hamlets, Zone B would be greater London, and Zone C would include home counties in Hertfordshire, Kent, Essex, Surrey, Kent, Buckinghamshire, and Berkshire.
Zone D allocates families beyond home counties, more than 90 minutes away.
Tower Hamlets’ Labour group welcomed the concerns of protestors who fear being reallocated against their will could isolate them from communities.
Limehouse Labour Councillor James King said: “Tower Hamlets have large communities of immigrant background…Bangladesh community or Somali background. There is fear of families being moved to places where there isn’t that community support network.”
He added that decisions to move families outside of London “often leads to negative outcomes. Being in Limbo”.
Campaigners says the proposal could also cause distress to recovering victims and survivors of domestic violence by disconnecting them from friends and family members who provide emotional support.
Councillor King said: “Another particular concern is how it would affect victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence who often might have to come out of or even not necessarily that serious, any sort of relationship breakdown.”
If resumed, the policy may cause frustration to elderly individuals who find a sense of belonging through their younger family members, say campaigners.
The policy also sparked concerns from non-governmental organisations.
Neighbours in Poplar is a Tower Hamlets-based charity aiming to allow individuals living alone and who are undocumented the opportunity to make meaningful connections within communities.
As a charity that aims to reduce loneliness, they feel concerned about the impact of the Homelessness Accommodation Placement Policy on already isolated people.
Sister Christine Frost, 87, a representative of Neighbours in Poplar, said: “I would not be in agreement with that at all.”
She stated that the policy would also pose a challenge to individuals whose first language was not English.
Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman said: “The Homelessness Placement Policy was a natural area to review, and I want to thank officers for carefully assessing the policy.”
Featured image: courtesy Councillor James King
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