The briefing, Far from home: Lessons from Westminster’s out-of-area temporary accommodation crisis, draws on testimony from current and former residents of Westminster temporary accommodation, alongside case studies from Z2K’s advice services. It finds that families are being uprooted from jobs, schools, healthcare and support networks, while facing mounting travel costs and isolation.
Government statistics published earlier this month show that almost one in every thirty Westminster residents now lives in temporary accommodation in a different local authority area. London councils collectively spend more than £5 million a day on temporary accommodation, with costs rising by 75% over the past five years, and with surging demand leading to local authorities increasingly relying on the displacement of its homeless households. According to the most recent government statistics, Westminster City Council has moved 65% of its homeless residents out-of-borough.
Residents described being moved at as little as 24 hours’ notice, losing belongings, and facing long and expensive commutes to maintain employment and children’s education.
I had to travel two hours and a bit back to nursery from [my host borough] to Westminster every single day. I had to stay there for five hours – I’d sit in the library, wait for them to finish, and then go back home. And the travel was expensive; it was from zone six to zone two, twice a day.
The research also highlights how out-of-area placements disrupt access to healthcare, with residents cut off from established GPs and specialist services, and in some cases forced onto new waiting lists. One survivor of torture with complex mental health needs saw her Westminster community mental health team close her case after an out-of-borough placement, leaving her health deteriorating while waiting for equivalent support in the host borough.
Westminster is placing more homeless families far from home than any other council in England, and our research shows the human cost. With the council facing deep funding cuts, there is a real risk that out-of-borough placements become a long-term strategy rather than an emergency measure. Westminster must act now to minimise these placements and ensure that where they cannot be avoided, residents are given the financial and practical support they need to stay connected to work, school and services.
The briefing sets out practical recommendations to address this crisis for the new Conservative administration of Westminster City Council, who regained control of the council at the local elections in May and have pledged to improve standards in temporary accommodation. These recommendations include retaining and strengthening targeted financial support for households placed out-of-area, delivering on the manifesto commitment to ensure core temporary accommodation standards are met, and minimising out-of-area placements.
