Manchester’s rising numbers of homeless deaths have been directly linked to disproportionate local government cuts under new analysis by Labour.
The party found those areas with the highest numbers of deaths between 2013 and 2017 had also seen their town hall budgets fall by more than three times the national average.
In Manchester’s case, the city recorded the fourth-highest number of deaths nationally in that time, while also seeing its council spending drop by more than £900 per household since the coalition took power - compared to an average of £254.
Labour said a government a £30m rough sleeping fund announced for rough sleeping last year amounted to a ‘drop in the ocean’ by comparison.
The city council - which has responsibility for supporting the homeless - has seen a £179m cut to its overall budget since 2010, while receiving a £413,000 share of the latest fund.
A government spokesman said other money had also been made available to help reduce homelessness.
But John Healey, shadow secretary of state for housing, said: “These figures show that the areas with the highest homelessness deaths are facing the deepest cuts.
“This makes the prospect of reducing deaths ever more bleak. The government’s £30m to reduce rough sleeping number has been pitiful so Britain’s homelessness crisis is set to continue.
“The next Prime Minister must put an end to this national shame of people dying on our street and back Labour’s plans to end rough sleeping and build thousands more affordable homes.”
The M.E.N. helped force government to start recording rough sleeper deaths last year after we reported on a string of individual tragedies and collated anecdotal data with the help of charities.
When the Office of National Statistics reported their first official count, it confirmed Manchester had the highest number of deaths in the country during 2017 and the fourth-highest between 2013 and 2017.
Labour compared the ten worst-affected areas with the level of cuts their councils have seen since austerity began, by using the government’s own measure of the money ultimately available to town halls through grant and council tax.
It found all of ten had seen at least twice the national average cut, but in several cases - Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and the London boroughs of Lambeth and Tower Hamlets - the reduction was more than three times the £254 average reduction across the country.
In Manchester’s case, spending had fallen by £926 per household, 3.6 times more than that figure.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said the government had put an additional £19.5m to 54 homelessness projects across the country, including Manchester council.
They added: “Every death on our streets is a tragedy and one too many - no one should spend their lives on the streets, or without a home to call their own.
“That’s why we are investing £1.2bn to tackle homelessness and have bold plans backed by £100m to end rough sleeping in its entirety.
"Councils have used this funding to create an estimated 2,600 more bed spaces and 750 additional specialist support staff this year.
“We are committed to ensuring independent reviews into the deaths of rough sleepers are conducted, where appropriate – and where this does not happen we will hold local authorities to account.”
