Lockdowns during the pandemic were a dark time for many and an experience few would care to repeat. The economic damage is hard to comprehend and the life chances of too many were harmed by school closures.
But one unexpected benefit of lockdown was it forced the government and local authorities to take emergency measures to get to grips with homelessness in our cities – on a temporary basis, at least.
Rough-sleeping vanished as hotel rooms were found for those who had no place of their own to stay. Paying to house people in temporary accommodation was never going to be a viable long-term option.
