HOUSING
At least 30,000 people have waited 10 years for social housing
The Big Issue can reveal that across England, over 30,000 people have been on a social housing waiting list for 10 years or more. In a stark illustration of the UK’s growing housing crisis, data shows that waits of two years or longer are now commonplace, while one in five people have waited 10 years or more for a home in at least three areas.
The Big Issue sent Freedom of Information requests to the 10 councils in England with the highest demand for council homes as of 2021 – Liverpool, Wakefield, Brent, Newham, Sheffield, Leeds, Birmingham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Lambeth.
Nine out of 10 authorities responded, with Wakefield Council rejecting the request saying its social housing…