Here’s a story to warm the cockles of even Scrooge’s heart as we contemplate the 130,000 children who will be in temporary accommodation this Christmas. Isn’t the British welfare state doing well in clearing up the potential problem of homelessness?
Yes, we know, we take some stick around here for repeatedly mentioning Worstall’s Fallacy. That we need to take account of what we already do to solve a problem before we can decide how much more we need to do. For example, food banks. These are a solution to people not having food which is great. For of course we like people without food to have food.
Which is the way we need to look at these numbers:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] One in every 103 children in the UK will be homeless this Christmas, a new study has found, further revealing the scale of the country’s housing crisis. A total of 131,000 children are now estimated to be homeless — around 50,000 more than five years ago, or a rise of 59% — according to an analysis of government statistics by homelessness charity Shelter. [/perfectpullquote]Well, yes, that’s Shelter so of course it’s great big dangly bits and hairy ones at that. The statement simply isn’t true. We’ve perhaps 5,000 rough sleepers on any one night across the country. Which doesn’t really leave room for 130,000 children to be doing it.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] More than 130,000 children across Great Britain will spend Christmas in temporary accommodation, official figures suggest. One in every 103 under-18s is officially homeless, a 59% rise in five years, housing charity Shelter said. [/perfectpullquote]There’s the confusion in the numbers. Amazingly, it’s The Guardian that gets the headline right:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]130,000 homeless children to be in temporary lodgings over Christmas[/perfectpullquote]The correct way to read this story therefore. There are 130,000 children out there who could be huddling under the public tree in the middle of the town square this Christmas. Instead we’ve instituted the welfare state which makes sure that all of these 130,000 are in fact inside, a roof over their heads, with running water and all those other lovely accoutrements of civilisation.
This is a victory for that welfare state we have, not as Shelter has it some disaster that must be rectified. We’re doing rather a lot about this already, aren’t we.
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...130,000 homeless children to be in temporary lodgings over Christmas...
Channelling C E M Joad, 'It all depends on what you mean by homeless...'
For instance, any family who are moving houses over Christmas, and who have a chain fallen through, or who have a bridging loan might be included. As might any people renting while they look for their first house....
We have a daft definition of homeless which for the most part means anyone having that problem solved tonight is defined as having the problem tonight.
I'd like to see Shelter do a breakdown of who is providing the solutions though - I suspect that the not State of friends, family, sugar landlords and churches is doing more than the welfare State, but I'm not getting paid to research interesting questions such as whether the not State should have less money or more money took off them to help.