MP slams policy on Rochdale’s homeles

Simon Danczuk MP

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk has finally got off the fence he sat on, due to not wanting to criticise his Labour colleagues before the recent local election, and heavily criticised Labour led Rochdale Council’s policy on homeless people.

He said that the town faces what he described as “a homelessness crisis” after figures show that the town has seen the biggest rise in homelessness of any area in Greater Manchester.

The figures, from the House of Commons library, show that from the end of 2010 to the end of 2011 homelessness in Rochdale has soared by over 200 per cent. According to these figures, 160 people presented themselves as homeless to the local authority representing a big increase from just 53 in 2010.

Commenting on these, Mr Danczuk said with more cuts to homeless services being made recently he was concerned that a bad situation was about to get much worse.

“Thirteen homeless groups have lost their contracts with Rochdale Council,” he said, “and while I understand that no area is immune from Government cuts this should not become a Cinderella service. Helping the homeless and making sure people are not forced to sleep rough should be a Council priority service.

“Rochdale Council needs to get help and support from other local authorities to manage the problem.

"Neighbouring towns need to take responsibility for their homeless people. We’re carrying an unfair burden,” he said. “We have nearly two and a half times the number of homeless people that Oldham does and we need to talk to neighbouring authorities about working together.”

He added that he considered it a mistake on the part of Rochdale Council to allocate funding for homeless services to national charities instead of local service providers.

“I think organisations like Petrus and the Sanctuary Trust hostel have the local knowledge and understanding of our town’s needs to deliver a better service,” he said. “Developing innovative local service models is the best way forward.”

Local campaigning group ‘Chill-Out’ has been formed to highlight the plight of Rochdale’s homeless. They are planning an organised ‘sleep-out’ outside Rochdale Town Hall on the night of the council cabinet meeting on 29 May to raise awareness of the issue.

www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/68755/chillout-homeless-protest-set-for-town-hall

‘Chill-Out’ co-organiser, Shirley Kennedy told Rochdale Online: “These figures are deeply alarming and confirm what ‘Chill-Out has been saying. We are an apolitical group but welcome Simon Danczuk’s statement. We have raised this issue with the council but so far nothing has been done. We will be discussing this with our supporters at tomorrow’s meeting and decide where we go from here.”

Rochdale Liberal Democrat councillor Dale Mulgrew responded to the MP’s statement: “I welcome such a timely contribution to the discussion. This is an issue we should be all working together on.”

Penny Sharp, Director of Customers and Communities at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We treat tackling homelessness as a priority given the current economic climate and despite the major financial challenges facing the council.

“We place great emphasis on preventing people from becoming homeless and this approach is bringing success.

“In the three months to 31 March this year we prevented 320 cases of homelessness and believe this strategy will enable us to help many more people across the borough avoid the stress and hardship of losing their home in the future.

“Early intervention is very important and so I would urge anyone who fears they may lose their home for any reason to call us as soon as possible on 0845 602 4995 so that we can look at ways of helping them.” 

Rochdale Online has approached Council Leader Colin Lambert for a statement and also Jim Dobbin MP. We are awaiting their responses.

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