Cost of living crisis: More than 300 households with children threatened with homelessness in Peterborough

More households with children in Peterborough are being threatened with homelessness, according to new government figures.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities figures show 327 households with children were owed a prevention duty in Peterborough in 2021-22 – 119 more than the previous year.

A prevention duty is an obligation for housing authorities to step-in to support people threatened with homelessness to help prevent them from becoming homeless.

Additionally, 183 Peterborough households were owed a relief duty in the year to March.

A relief duty is for people who are already homeless and Peterborough City Council must then take steps to help them secure accommodation for at least six months.

Nationally, 56,340 households with children were owed a prevention duty in 2021-22 – a 24% increase on the 45,590 the year before.

The number of relief duties owed to households with children already made homeless nationally also rose from 30,080 to 36,960.

Domestic abuse

Domestic abuse is a major contributing factor driving people towards homelessness, with 11,330 of the 56,340 households with children owed a relief duty across the country caused by domestic abuse.

This was an 18% increase from the year before and a 36% rise from 2019-20, before the coronavirus pandemic.

A further 5,730 prevention duties were owed due to domestic abuse in 2021-22.

In Peterborough, 42 domestic abuse cases led to prevention duties, while 29 relief duties were owed to people who were already homeless.