Split households reunited thanks to Labour

In July Croydon Labour exposed the fact that every evening in Croydon there were over 200 homeless families in the borough who were forced to sleep apart; denied the right to live together as a single family household, all under one single roof.

There are many factors that create the circumstances in which this occurs. But separating homeless families so that some members are placed into one unit of accommodation whilst others from that same household are placed into entirely separate accommodation is a conscious – even if reluctant – outcome of decisions taken by this council.

It means parents are separated from some of their children and their partner in what is an entirely unacceptable situation.

This problem has arisen during the past two years, with 185 families split up during this period. The figure as recently as 2021 was only six, so this huge increase in the practice of separating families has happened since the Conservatives took control of Croydon Council.

Croydon Labour exposed this practice and our pressure and campaigning has forced the council to start reuniting families.

The latest figures show that there are now 100 families separated overnight. It’s still too many but we are delighted our pressure has seen the number reduce by more than 50%.