LONDON nike air max 90 white online , Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Homelessness across England costs the the public sector more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars a year, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed Wednesday.


The NAO in a critical report says the national government has not evaluated the impact of its welfare reforms on homelessness, or the impact of the mitigations that it has put in place.


NAO said there were 77,240 households in temporary accommodation in England in March 2017, an increase of 60 percent compared with March 2011.


The households include 120,540 children, an increase of 73 percent from March 2011, added NAO.


London accounts for 90 percent of families placed in temporary accommodation away from the British capital, with homeless charities claiming many had been sent to live many kilometers away from London.


The report said that three quarters of the total cost of homelessness, amounting to 1.12 billion U.S. dollars was spent on temporary accommodation.


NAO said tenancies coming to an end in the privately rented sector has overtaken all other causes to become the biggest single cause of statutory homelessness in England.


The proportion of households accepted as homeless by local authorities due to the end of an assured shorthold tenancy increased from 11 percent during 2009 to 2010 to 32 percent during 2016 to 2017. The proportion in London increased during the same period from 10 percent to 39 percent.


The report says it appears likely that government welfare reforms, which placed a cap on the amount local authorities pay towards rents in the private rented sector, have helped drive up homelessness. The cap made many homes unaffordable for families.


NAO said its report found that the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) does not have a published cross government strategy to prevent and tackle homelessness.


"It has, however, acknowledged the scale of the challenge and plans to improve the data the government holds on homelessness," said a spokesperson for NAO.


It adds that although DCLG is responsible for tackling homelessness, it has taken a light touch approach to working with local authorities. This contrasts with the more interventionist approach that DCLG took during previous periods of high homelessness.


"The ability of local authorities to respond to increased homelessness is constrained by the limited options they have to house homeless families," says the report, adding there has been a significant reduction in social housing over the past few decades.


Amyas Morse, head of the NAO said: "Homelessness in all its forms has significantly increased in recent years, driven by several factors. Despite this, government has not evaluated the impact of its reforms on this issue, and there remain gaps in its approach. It is difficult to understand why the DCLG persisted with its light touch approach in the face of such a visibly growing problem. Its recent performance in reducing homelessness therefore cannot be considered value for money".


Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chairs parliament's Public Accounts Committee, said: "It is a national scandal that more and more people are made homeless every year. This report illustrates the very real human cost of the government's failure to ensure people have access to affordable housing."


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FUZHOUHANGZHOU, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 200,000 people have been evacuated from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces as of Wednesday as Talim, the region's 18th typhoon this year, moves rapidly towards China's southeast coast.


The provincial meteorological department of Fujian forecast that Talim would intensify into a super typhoon with a speed of 180 to 200 km per hour within the next two days.


China's national weather observatory Wednesday forecast that Talim would either move northwest and make landfall in Zhejiang from Thursday night to Friday morning, or move north into waters near Zhejiang on Friday and then turn northeast.


More than 120,000 people have been moved to safe places, 20,000 fishing vessels taken shelter in Fujian, and nearly 2,000 scenic spots and construction sites shut down. In Zhejiang, nearly 9,000 people have been relocated and more than 4,700 fishing vessels harbored.


In the meantime, Typhoon Doksuri, the 19th in the region this year, has been forecast to either pass the coast of south China's Hainan Island or land in coastal areas of the province on Thursday night or Friday morning.


The Hainan weather bureau Wednesday morning issued an alert for the approaching Typhoon Doksuri.


Fire drill held in S China's Guangxi


Aerial view of villages in N China's Shanxi


Apple releases new products and services in California


China Internet Security Conference held in Beijing


China, Pakistan air forces hold joint training exercises


Pic story: Chinese grape and wine expert


Farmers busy with farm work around Bailu across China


Rural children take free lunch in SW China's Guizhou


A French frigate has docked at a port in southern China on a four-day visit to China's South China Sea fleet, China's military said on Wednesday, amid tensions between China and United States over the disputed waters.


The Vendémiaire docked at Zhanjiang in the southern province of Guangdong on Tuesday morning for a four day "friendly visit", the official People's Liberation Army Daily said.


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