The number of homeless in London’s deprived East End has more than doubled in just three years, new figures from Parliament show.
It rose in Tower Hamlets from 156 in 2010 to 326 last year, an increase of 109 per cent.
The shock findings have been blamed by Poplar & Limehouse MP Jim Fitzpatrick on failure to build enough new and affordable homes by the government and Mayor of London.
“It’s a scandal when the number of homeless has doubled,” he said. “We’re at a critical point where we can act now—or face the consequences of more homeless people on our streets.”
House-building has fallen to the lowest level since 1924 with targets being missed, the figures from the House of Commons own Combined Homelessness & Information database reveal.
The MP added: “Housing is the number one issue in Tower Hamlets—but we’ve seen very little from the government or Boris.”
He fears the lack of affordable housing is pricing people out of the property market and forcing many “onto the streets.”
Tower Hamlets has more than 20,000 families on its housing waiting list, critics point out.
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