Homes crisis as outside families 'dumped' in Sandwell
Dozens of families were 'dumped' in Sandwell from outside the borough last year – including four from London – as thousands in the area were kept waiting for a home of their own.
Figures showed 61 families had come into the borough from other areas during 2016 amid a housing crisis which has left the council trying to manage a massive waiting list.
Sandwell Council leader Steve Eling said some of the families had been 'dumped' in the area, piling pressure on schools and housing.
Although the families were granted homes in the private rented sector, it potentially has knock-on effect on other families who are trying to rent, forcing them to apply for council accommodation instead.
The majority of those moving to Sandwell came from neighbouring Birmingham, with 57 homeless families coming in from the second city.
But four also came in from London, three of those from Hammersmith and Fulham and one from Newham.
Councillor Eling said the placing of so many families in the borough, often without the council's knowledge, was a frustration, particularly those coming from 130 miles away in the capital.
He said: "We have had these issues with London previously. There is some unhappiness among councils that London boroughs have agents working for them in the West Midlands renting houses in the private rented sector.
"We can't have a go at the people being dumped. They have gone to their local authority in London declaring themselves homeless. Most of them probably don't want to be here, they want to be living with their friends and family in London but get told they have got to go and live in Smethwick or nothing and they have got no choice."
Sandwell's housing waiting list topped 6,000 last year, while the authority has sanctioned a school expansion programme to try and cope with a baby boom in the area and Councillor Eling admitted people being placed in the borough from outside only added to the problems.
He said: "It shows how bad the housing crisis is and it creates problems locally, particularly if the London boroughs don't tell us they are dumping people. The first we find out is when they tap on our door looking for school places and there aren't any – all the schools are full. It is an ongoing issue."
