The Liberal Democrats have become the first major party to commit to ending the "national scandal" of rough sleeping across Britain, including in Oxfordshire.
The latest figures show that the number of people sleeping rough in England more than doubled between 2010 and 2016 from 1768 in 2010 to 4134 in 2016. In Oxfordshire there was an increase from 13 to 65.
The Liberal Democrats have set out a series of measures to end rough sleeping, including introducing a Housing First provider in each local authority that would put long-term homeless people straight into independent homes rather than emergency shelters.
The news comes as a coalition of homelessness charities, including Centrepoint, Crisis, Homeless Link, Shelter and St Mungo’s, have called on political parties to commit to end rough sleeping in Britain.
Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Henley constituency Laura Coyle is a legal aid housing solicitor in Oxford advising and representing tenants facing eviction and those who are already homeless. She recently addressed a meeting of Oxford City Council calling for the reopening of Lucy Faithfull House, a homeles hostel in the city.
Commenting on the Lib Dem commitment Mrs Coyle said:
“It is a national scandal that so people are sleeping on the streets in 21st century Britain.
“By increasing support for homelessness prevention and properly funding emergency accommodation, we can end rough sleeping in Oxfordshire and across the country.
“The evidence suggests that supporting people and giving them long-term, stable places to stay is far more successful in tackling homelessness than constantly moving them to different temporary accommodation.
“Under this government, homelessness has soared and young people have been stripped of housing benefit, threatening to make matters even worse.
“This election is a chance to change the direction of this country and stand up for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united."
