Lancashire a hot spot for homelessness, figures show

The Ribble Valley came out as the lowest area in Lancashire for both the rate of households in danger of becoming homeless and the proportion that actually are

Most parts of Lancashire have a higher proportion of households at risk of becoming homeless than elsewhere in the north-west of England, according to government figures.

The statistics show nine of the county’s 14 council areas exceed the regional average, with Blackpool being in the top 10 places in England for both the rate of households in danger of becoming homeless and the proportion that actually are.

The resort town has the 10th-highest rate of actual homelessness in England and the highest in Lancashire.

Rossendale has the greatest percentage of households threatened with homelessness in Lancashire and seventh place in England, just above Blackpool.

Statutory homelessness does not necessarily equate to rough sleeping and many households classed as homeless will be living in temporary accommodation, staying with family or "sofa surfing" at a friend's home.

According to the latest statutory homelessness figures released for January to March this year, Rossendale, Blackpool, Pendle, Burnley, Blackburn with Darwen, Preston, Wyre, Hyndburn and Lancaster all have a higher rate of households under threat of homelessness than the North West average.

The county fares better on the measure of statutory homelessness, with five areas having a greater proportion of households considered homeless than the regional norm – Blackpool, Burnley, Blackburn with Darwen, Preston and Lancaster.

The figures, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, are based on the number of households per 1,000 in a given area that are owed a so-called "duty of prevention" by local authorities because they are threatened with homelessness, and the same ratio that are regarded as actually being homeless and so are entitled to a "duty of relief".

Ribble Valley came out as the best area in Lancashire by both measures, with Chorley, Fylde and West Lancashire being below the North West average in both categories.

The Labour government has promised to prioritise the issue of homelessness.

Deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, previously said work was under way "to stop people from becoming homeless in the first place".

"This includes delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable homebuilding in a generation, abolishing Section 21 no-fault evictions and a multi-million pound package to provide homes for families most at risk of homelessness," she added.