Bromley by-election candidates claim homeless families are being sent to live in the West Midlands

Candidates for a south London constituency have labeled the country’s services at “breaking point”, claiming some Bromley homeless families are being placed as far away as the West Midlands. Candidates running for the Bromley and Biggin Hill seats were polled by residents on June 25 in a general election shortlist focused on disability services.

The event was hosted at Bromley United Reformed Church by Bromley Experts by Experience, a charity dedicated to supporting people living with disabilities. The Lib Dems were represented by Julie Ireland, currently a councilor for Bromley Town ward for Bromley Council, while Oana Olaru-Holmes ran as a Labor candidate, currently representing Downham for Lewisham Council.

Alan Cook from Reform UK and Ruth Fabricant from the Green Party were also in attendance. Nicole Burgess, deputy CEO of Bromley Experts by Experience and host of the event, said several Conservative Party candidates, including Bromley and Biggin Hill’s challenger Peter Fortune, had been approached by the hunting charity but all declined the offer to participate. She added that a set of questions had been sent to the candidates but no responses had been received.

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Candidates were consulted on a number of topics including NHS waiting lists and personal independence payments. A local resident asked how the candidates could improve the current systems in place to combat homelessness. Cllr Ireland said he noted the importance of local charities such as Bromley Homeless in supporting vulnerable people and believed the solution was to create the “right homes” for the people of Bromley in the “right location”.

She said: “We have 1,600 families on the (local authority) waiting list. I have some casework for parents and children in Travelodge hotels. Parents with children who have been relocated to the West Midlands’.

“Homeless people being sent hours away from Bromley”

Ms Fabricant said she also knew homeless people were being sent hours away from the Bromley borough for housing and claimed the Green Party planned to provide 150,000 new social homes a year. Cllr Olaru-Holmes said Labor was keen to challenge landlords in the current housing climate and believed not enough family or one-bedroom homes were being built under the current government.

Cook said massive social care reform was needed to support those with mental health problems at risk of homelessness, claiming the NHS had seen 25 years of “managed decline” under successive Conservative and Labor governments. . However, he considered immigration to be the key barrier to the potential number of homes available.

The UK Reform candidate told the hearings: “Most housing policy at the moment is pointless when we have such a large number of people wanting to live here. We simply cannot build enough houses until we stop mass immigration… The numbers are just too great, every service is at breaking point.”

Cllr Ireland addressed Reform UK’s position on immigration affecting a variety of services and said more emphasis should be placed on rethinking the care service, which is currently “falling apart”. When asked about the decline in the quality of disability care, the Lib Dem candidate said care workers were “chronically underpaid” and deserved more respect, recalling a 94-year-old woman he knew who previously lost care workers.

Cllr Ireland said: “She’s actually signed a DNR (do not resuscitate order) plastered to her front door because she’s so scared she’s going to have to go into a care home to be looked after . He is scared of evil. poor service and care he is likely to receive’.

Cllr Olaru-Holmes said there was a need for better co-ordination between care services and the NHS. She said the Labor Party wanted to see increased pay and support for care staff and would make sure residents could easily raise similar issues to her if elected. Ms Fabricant said the Green Party wanted to ensure residents would not have to pay for care and that the party’s ambitious plans would be funded by taxing the “broadest shouldered”.

Voters will decide who they want to represent their constituency on July 4. The deadline for proxy voting applications and voters’ certificates of authority is 5:00 p.m. on June 26.

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