Homelessness in England at highest level on record, watchdog says

The number of households accepted as homeless by their local council has risen by more than one-fifth over the past five years, the NAO said. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

Homelessness is at its highest level in England since records began and is expected to worsen, according to a scathing investigation by the public spending watchdog into the last government’s attempts to tackle the problem.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said that despite a range of measures introduced under Theresa May’s Conservative administration in 2018, homelessness had soared, with record numbers of families now trapped in unsuitable accommodation.