'The main stability in your life is your home'

New figures released have laid bare the housing crisis being faced in a Berkshire borough.

Slough has the highest rate of homelessness of any borough outside of London, according to the figures from Shelter.

Mandy Maguire, head of day services at homelessness charity Slough Homeless Our Concern (SHOC), said the figures were the result of a culmination of factors including high rents and a lack of social housing.

She said the "main stability in your life is your home", and the figures were "heart-breaking".

According to the figures, one in 51 people in Slough are homeless - which includes those sleeping rough and living in temporary accommodation - putting it 13th nationally.

"Slough as a borough is very similar to a London borough and very different from its leafy Berkshire neighbours," said Ms Maguire.

"Slough's rents are through the roof, there's no affordable housing in Slough, there's very little social housing in Slough, so people are stuck."

Charlie Berry, public affairs officer for Shelter, said there was a "a huge explosion" of homelessness at the moment, something that was predominantly down to a "dire shortage of truly affordable homes".

"We're really seeing record numbers of all forms of homelessness," she said.

She said the freezing of housing benefits as well as high private rents were also contributing to the problem.

Ms Maguire said people needed a stable home to lay down their foundations - something she said was particularly pertinent this time of year.

"[You're] putting your decorations up and presents under a tree and if you find yourself in temporary accommodation, quite often you're away from your family and maybe in accommodation that doesn't lend itself to having decorations up and having a really good Christmas with your family," she said.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the figures were "shocking" and showed "the devastating reality of the homelessness crisis which we have inherited".

They said the government had committed £1bn of funding to supporting homelessness services, and promised to build "the social and affordable homes we need".

A spokesperson for Slough Borough Council said they were facing "exceptional pressures" on housing services, exacerbated by recent pressure on the private rental market.

They also said there was a reduction of the number of homes available because of other councils placing homeless families into Slough.

According to the figures, the five areas with the highest rates of homelessness in London were:

• Newham - one in 18 people
• Westminster - one in 26 people
• Hackney - one in 30 people
• Redbridge - one in 33 people
• Haringey - one in 33 people

The five areas with the highest rates of homelessness outside of London were:

• Slough - one in 51 people
• Luton - one in 57 people
• Manchester - one in 61 people
• Birmingham - one in 62 people
• Hastings - one in 64 people

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