Westminster Council spent £3m on hotels for homeless

Westminster City Council has spent over £3m in six months paying for people waiting for permanent housing to be put up in hotels, figures show.

The authority has the most families in long-term bed and breakfasts in London and has had to resort to more expensive hotels to cope.

From October to March, Westminster paid £3,573,321 to hotel booking agency Polyglobe.

The council said the housing benefit cap means it has little choice.

Councils have a legal duty to re-house homeless people.

Housing Minister Mark Prisk said: “It cannot make sense to pay more for housing a family in one room than it would cost to house them in suitable self-contained accommodation.”

But Westminster Council’s housing spokesman Councillor Jonathan Glanz said: “The changes to housing benefit caps in particular, and the changes to welfare reforms, have meant that we have seen a huge increase in the number of people that are presenting as homeless.

“Although we have been redoubling our efforts to ensure that we have more and better self-contained accommodation for people, inevitably the sheer numbers of people that have come along have meant that we haven’t been able to accommodate them all.”

The Conservative-run council claims the numbers living in hotels are falling and added it has done deals for 600 new properties for homeless people.

Figures from the public sector spending website Spotlight On Spend, showed £955,058 was spent in March alone.

In the first nine months of 2012, more than £2m was spent accommodating people in four-star hotels.

Jason Sallis has been living at a Jurys Inn hotel in Imperial Wharf, west London, where a room costs over £100 a night, for 14 months.

Before, he was living in a council flat opposite Holloway Prison, which he said cost £70 a week covered by housing benefit.

He said: “At first I felt quite privileged to be in a really nice hotel but over time you’re restricted to what you can and can’t do.

“On the surface it looks good but you’re looking at million pound houses around you and it makes you feel sick because I just want to be a normal person living in a normal home.

“You can’t cook your own meals. You can’t listen to music how you want to listen to it. You can’t smoke… You’ve got to eat takeaways all the time.”

A 53-year-old grandmother who has multiple sclerosis is also living in the hotel.

The woman, who wants to remain anonymous, was evicted from her home eight months ago because she went into arrears when her benefits were cut.

“After two World Wars and people going through rations and what’s happening now with money being spent freely it’s not right. It’s like taking normality from people’s lives.”

Housing Minister Mr Prisk said there was “no excuse” for families to be stuck in temporary accommodation and that it was a waste of public money.

He said £470m worth of funding had been invested to help tackle homelessness.”

He added: “Whilst it is ultimately a matter for councils to decide how to make best use of their budgets, it cannot make sense to pay more for housing a family in one room than it would cost to house them in suitable self-contained accommodation.”

Last December, BBC London learned more than a third of London councils have unlawfully housed homeless families in B&Bs for more than six weeks, with Westminster, Barking and Dagenham and Hammersmith and Fulham accounting for highest numbers.

‘Soup kitchen must move’, says Waltham Forest Council after judicial review sought

Waltham Forest Council is adamant that a soup kitchen must move after the volunteers behind it issued court papers seeking a judicial review against its eviction.

The Christian Kitchen group has served hot meals to the borough’s homeless and destitute at its Mission Grove car park in Walthamstow every night for the last 20 years.

But the council has ordered the group to leave, saying the soup kitchen attracts anti-social behaviour and crime, a claim volunteers deny.

Today volunteers behind the soup kitchen ordered lawyers to issue court papers seeking a judicial review, claiming the council has not taken into account the effect a move would have on the people it supports, as many would not be able to reach an alternative proposed site in Chingford.

But Clyde Loakes, deputy leader of the council, said the site made its neighbours feel unsafe.

He said: “The council appreciates that the vast majority of the people who use the soup kitchen are law-abiding, but the current site has sadly become a magnet for some people who want to cause trouble and we do not think that it is right that local residents should be made to feel unsafe”

The authority recently rejected Christian Kitchen’s suggestion that it use the town hall as an alternative site, calling it unpracticable, but the group claims there is nowhere else it could go.

But a council spokesman said: “The council understands Christian Kitchen are also considering other non-council owned sites and respects their right to relocate where they feel is best.

“However, the council is consistent in its view that Mission Grove is no longer a viable option.”

Volunteer Paul Dowling said that despite 32 churches providing volunteers to run the kitchen, none of them could house the service.

He said: “Only half a dozen of them have car parks and they’re all in residential areas which just aren’t suitable. We’ll get complaints, whereas Mission Grove is perfect for our needs.”

Theresa Blake, 55, is homeless and has been using the kitchen every night for around the last 10 years.

She said: “I suffer from arthritis in my legs and I can walk only short distances so I’m very concerned.

“If the kitchen was to move to somewhere out of town I just wouldn’t be able to walk there, and I can’t afford the bus fare.

“Some of the people I know who come to the soup kitchen are very old and vulnerable and would really struggle if it moved out of town.”

Praise for documentary on Swansea’s homeless

A TELEVISION documentary has been praised for placing the issue of homelessness in Swansea firmly on the agenda.

The BBC series, Swansea; Back on the Streets, made by film makers Tracy Harris and Chris Rushton, followed the homeless in the city over the winter.

It was the second such documentary series from the pair who captured on film the harsh realities of living on the streets.

The latest series has been praised by charities for placing the problem in the spotlight.

Filmmaker Chris Rushton said: “We filmed the first series in the run up to Christmas 2013 and we went back 15 months later.

“I would say that the problem has grown. And it is going to get worse with the bedroom tax and other benefit clamp downs.”

Mr Rushton said that many of the homeless they met were young and had troubled backgrounds.

He said: “A lot of them had very unhappy childhoods. I would say that over 50 per cent of them have had a difficult upbringing, if you don’t have the love and care of a family it leads to all kinds of problems.

“They haven’t got the support that comes from a nice family. It’s a different world.”

He added that the problem was not unique to Swansea.

He said: “Swansea is like any other city. If you are homeless you are going to go where there are shelters and charities that help.”

Now the filmmaker hopes that the programmes will help address the issue.

He said: “Hopefully, we have helped others understand the nature of the problem.

“You have to give credit to these homeless people. They don’t often trust people and we have been privileged to have them speak to us in the way they did.”

So far the reaction to the series, which finished last night, has been positive.

He said: “We have had fabulous viewing figures, especially going out at 10.35pm. I have been amazed by the number of people who have cried watching the films.

“It’s what TV should be for, yes it entertains and is good for the rugby, but it can also help make a difference.”

Dan Jolley of registered charity Caer Las Cymru praised the programme saying: “We are pleased with the profile and awareness that 165,000 viewers brings.

“We have had lots of people getting in touch with us and donating things to us.”

Mr Jolley praised Swansea Council for the manner in which it aimed to address the problem.

He said: “The local authority is doing a really good job of making sure people aren’t on the streets but tackling the problem itself is an issue.

“It’s an ongoing and difficult problem to fix and you will never see a point where there are no homeless on the street.

We are working with the Welsh Government to improve our access point on the Strand.”

Homelessness and smoking outside could become crimes under new bill proposals

The think tank the Manifesto Club claims the Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) expand the statutory powers they are to replace while removing checks on their use, a position that will allow for council exploitation.

Under the proposals homelessness could be turned into a crime under the new anti-social behaviour statutes.

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing bill, presented in part in the Queen’s Speech, includes statutory powers to ban certain activities in designated areas.

Manifesto Club director Josie Appleton, said : “There is widespread evidence of the over-use of existing powers, which are already too broad and have been employed unjustly to interfere with law-abiding individuals. The danger posed by these new powers is substantially greater.

We believe that the Government has underestimated the potential for abuse of these powers and failed to introduce sufficient checks and balances.”

The PSPOs could be used by councils for draconian powers such as the banning of spitting, banning homeless or young people from parks and other recreational areas, to initiate bans on begging, rough sleeping, and an expansion to the existing ban on indoor smoking extending it to include a ban on smoking in outdoor public places.

The orders can also be directed at particular groups, said the Manifesto Club, a position that could well see discrimination carried out.

Appleton added: “No doubt some local authorities would use these new powers proportionately, but we can be sure that others would not.

“Public Space Protection Orders urgently need to be subjected to additional checks and limitations to ensure that they are used proportionately and do not interfere with the rights of those who use public spaces.”

Of course statutes are aimed not at the human you, they are aimed at the corporate mimic of you, the ‘Legal Persona‘, understanding your relationship to the legal fiction is the key to preventing the enforcement of such nonsensical statutory legislation

Petition to end Homelessness by John Gall, Emmaus

A message to Lord Freud: Make sure night shelters aren’t forced to close their doors to homeless people

As someone who was homeless for best part of a decade, I know first-hand the devastating impact this can have on people’s physical and mental health. My life fell apart when my wife died. I didn’t know how to cope and started drinking heavily. Eventually I lost my job and before long I found myself living on the streets. For a long time, night shelters were a crucial refuge for me when I had nowhere else to go. I’m still in touch with a night shelter in Chichester which supported me when I needed their help the most.

But night shelters throughout England and Wales may now be threatened with closure by a legal ruling that supported Isle of Anglesey Council’s decision to deny housing benefit to a man who was staying in a night shelter. This was done on the grounds that it could not be considered his ‘home’, as the man did not have the right to leave his possessions there or a guaranteed place every night.
Many night shelters rely on Housing Benefit payments to keep their services running. This income is needed more now than ever before, as many homelessness services are already seeing other sources of funding fall due to local authority spending cuts. Without access to Housing Benefit, many shelters may be forced to close their doors.
I am extremely concerned that other Councils may now stop Housing Benefit payments to emergency shelters, placing night shelters and Nightstop schemes around the country at risk of closure. This would leave many homeless and vulnerable people with nowhere to sleep at night, placing lives in danger.

I now work for Emmaus, a homelessness charity that provides an opportunity for formerly homeless people to access long term housing and get their lives on track again. This worked for me and has completely changed my life. Overcoming homelessness has meant I have been able to rebuild my life and has given me the opportunity to renew my relationship with my son. Without the initial support I received from night shelters and the longer term support from Emmaus, I might still be living on the streets today.

Undermining the existence of emergency homelessness services will have devastating consequences for so many people, who use their services as a last resort. The government must act now to do something about this.

Please sign this petition to urge Lord Freud and the Department for Work and Pensions to take immediate action to ensure that night shelters are not forced to close due to the loss of Housing Benefit.Lord Freud: Make sure night shelters aren’t forced to close their doors to homeless people

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/lord-freud-make-sure-night-shelters-aren-t-forced-to-close-their-doors-to-homeless-people?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=25000&alert_id=fpfcsBPvRS_aTlBBOtrxn

New Artworks By The Homeless Exhibited

A new and unique initiative to exhibit and celebrate the wonderful artworks created by London’s homeless people, those who are socially vulnerable or those who have experienced homelessness. They are truly remarkable artists, and we want to share their talent and creativity with all you Londoners out there.
Experience it yourself first-hand, by exploring the many small, hard-working & independent Cafes in London who have given up their wall space to exhibit them. With spring here, what better way to enjoy your hot, aromatic cup of espresso than visiting there partner Cafes, and begin your journey of an ever changing landscape of amazing talent, for free.

Go to Cafe Art and see a list of where you can view by clicking the link

http://www.cafeart.org.uk/#/cafes/4560577470

Unbelievable govt comment this week on Foodbanks

Unbelievable govt comment this week on Foodbanks

I often pick up on interesting exchanges from the Commons. However, this week I came across one which went way beyond ‘interesting’ and well into the territory of ‘he can’t possibly have really just said that’.

I’ve written before about Foodbanks and spent the last bank holiday working for the one in Croydon and the appalling gall of David Cameron in trying to claim the exponential rise in their numbers as an expression of his ‘Big Society’. Cameron has also been incredibly disingenuous when criticised about this rise, claiming that ‘The use of food banks went up tenfold under the last Labour government’

Here’s what made my jaw drop. It’s a passage from the Hansard record of Commons debates last Tuesday, 14th May 2013. During a debate on the cost of living, Labour MP Huw Irranca-Davies challenged the government on the exponential rise in the number of people relying on help from Foodbanks:

Against the glowing backdrop that the Secretary of State paints, why do I now have a food bank in every single village in my constituency when there was only one three years ago? Why has there been a quadrupling of food banks under this Government? His record cannot be that good, given the backdrop of the inexorable rise of food poverty.

As we’ve seen, Mr Irranca-Davies actually understated the situation. The latest figures were released at the end of April, so he should have said that Foodbank use has gone up almost nine-fold under this woeful government. Close to Cameron’s misleading claim of a tenfold increase under Labour, but 9 times a far larger number to begin with. Perhaps Mr Irranca-Davies didn’t have the latest numbers, but it’s a pity he missed the opportunity to confront the government with its even greater culpability.

Government minister Ed Davey gave his staggering response:

People who run food banks are doing an extremely good job and deserve credit for their work. However, it is completely wrong to suggest that there is a statistical link between the Government’s benefit reforms and the provision of food banks. It is good that people are helping others. I hope the hon. Gentleman supports that.

Not only does Davey repeat Cameron’s hubris by claiming the increase in Foodbank use as a social good – he claims that the rise has nothing to do with the government’s benefit ‘reforms’.

I have news for Mr Davey. The number of people coming to the Foodbank for help in Croydon i helped out on doubled overnight when the government’s latest ‘reforms’ kicked in at the beginning of April, including the cancellation of the ‘crisis loan’ programme.

There can no doubt whatever in the mind of any reasonable, honest person that the government’s persecution and impoverishment of those who are already poor and disadvantaged is directly responsible for the massive increase in the number of people in such desperate straits that their only option is to accept the humiliation of admitting to strangers that you literally have no food to put on the table for yourself or your family.

That ordinary people have galvanised themselves to save others from starvation is amazing, and heartwarming.

That our government is increasing the number of people who need saving by around 350 people per day for the whole of last year (a number that unquestionably continues to accelerate) should have the Tories and LibDems cowering in shame – and make them unelectable forever. Instead the government is claiming ‘It’s nothing to do with us, guv‘.

Anyone who would think for even a nanosecond of voting for either party in the next general election needs either their head or their heart examined – or both. #justsaying

Homelessness warning as London’s young find it impossible to rent a room – Published by Central Government

Homelessness warning as London’s young find it impossible to rent a room
People under the age of 35 and claiming benefits are finding it increasingly difficult to find an affordable room to rent in London, according to new research published today.

Homeless Link’s ‘Nowhere to Move’ report shows that only 5.5% of shared properties in the capital are affordable to under 35-year-olds claiming benefits while less than 1% of landlords said they were willing to accept this type of tenant.

Last year, the government made a change to the Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) – the level of housing benefit that applies to single people in the private rented sector – that placed restrictions on claimants under the age of 35.

Launched today at Homeless Link’s national conference on housing, the report’s findings strongly suggest that welfare reform is adding to an already severe housing crisis in London.

The SAR is limited to a maximum amount based on what is seen as appropriate rent for a room in a shared property. Until January 2012, this only applied to 18-24 year olds but was extended to include all benefit claimants under 35. According to the government’s own figures this added a further 12,000 people to those already competing for shared accommodation.

Government sets housing allowance limits so that 30% of properties in an area are affordable to those who claim it. However, the report reveals that the actual figure in London is much lower – just 5.5%. The allowance hasn’t increased in-line with the significant rises in private rental prices, pushing more and more properties out of reach.

The report also suggests that the attitudes of private sector landlords could be putting benefit claimants at a severe disadvantage. From our sample of properties, less than 1% had landlords that explicitly stated they were happy to rent to benefit claimants.

These findings present a situation in which changes to the welfare system could be further limiting access to affordable accommodation for people under 35. The report suggests a number of recommendations in order to avoid potentially forcing people into homelessness. Primarily, housing benefit rates should be adjusted to reflect the real cost of renting shared accommodation in London and ensure that claimants have access to at least 30% of properties in their local area.

This report clearly shows that the recent changes to the system have left it falling far below the mark and could be putting many people at risk of homelessness.

The bottom line is that the housing crisis must be fixed and the dysfunctionality of the housing market needs to be addressed. In the short-term, government must make in-roads by ensuring that more properties are affordable and encouraging landlords to open their doors to those on benefits.

There is also evidence at Broadway of the negative effects of the housing benefit changes. People are losing their homes and those looking for accommodation from the streets are finding the move on from temporary accommodation increasingly difficult.

We can only see the situation getting worse unless urgent action is taken to make properties more affordable for those on benefits.

Homeless Link examined data taken from 55,537 property listings in London to assess the impact of this change.

Youth unemployment has increased by 340 per cent in the past two years, according to new figures released this week.

This means the number of young people aged 16-24 out of work and on Jobseekers’ Allowance remains close to the one million mark and almost 74,000 of those have been unemployed for more than a year.

Youth unemployment has dropped a little in the past few months, but only by 17,700 since December 2012. This figure is just too small to make any real dent and this remains a concern that youth unemployment now will have a lasting impact on the future.

Unless we support under-25s into work now, we risk storing up economic and social problems in the future, The government must urgently review whether apprenticeships and the youth contract are reaching those young people furthest from the labour market and should consider implementing pre-apprenticeship schemes to address any failings.

The vast majority of homeless young people want to work and the government must respond to their commitment and end this tragic trend of long-term youth unemployment.

£10m for homeless after hospital stays

HEALTH minister Anna Soubry has announced a £10 million boost for homeless people who are leaving hospital.

It is estimated that 70 per cent of homeless people are discharged from hospital without their health and housing problems being properly addressed.

The cash will support voluntary organisations to help them work with the NHS and local authorities to ensure homeless people receive the best possible support and care after leaving hospital.

The £10 million will also be spent on intermediate care after discharge – vital for recovering from health problems such as tuberculosis.

Ms Soubry, the MP for Broxtowe, said: “Homeless people are too often discharged back on to the street without their problems being properly addressed. This is damaging to their health and increases NHS costs through ‘revolving door’ admissions.”

In relation to this and a little digging on the Internet I found details that The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has said housing can help health and wellbeing, but the sectors need to work together. The report shows how good housing can help people leave hospital more quickly and help care to be delivered more effectively.

The CIH have called for housing associations and landlords to work more closely with health and social care providers, to get the benefits from the partnership.

They have suggested a localised approach to this, and have suggested that housing organisations approach local GPs and new commissioning groups to offer local services, such as supported housing, housing-related support, housing improvements, adaptations and palliative home care.

This can improve people’s health and well-being as well as save money for health and social care providers.

The report is based on meetings held by the CIH earlier this year, delivering housing, health and care outcomes, where people expressed interest in promoting the application of assistive technology.

Cash boost to improve rent options for single homeless people

The Government announced at the Homeless charity Crisis conference on Monday 13th of may a £1m funding to help single homeless people find accommodation in privately rented properties. Crisis, will be given £800,000 to help set up new shared tenancies for single homeless people in privately rented accommodation. The rest of the funding will be used to work with landlords to help vulnerable people find homes in the private sector.

Communities minister, Don Foster, said:at the conference ‘No-one should have to face the frightening prospect of homelessness, and for many, particularly younger, single people, renting a room can be an affordable alternative to a flat or house.

‘We want to ensure that option is widely available, which is why today we’ve provided Crisis with a million-pound boost, helping hundreds more vulnerable people into tenancies that work for them, and finding a way forward to make rented rooms a reality right across the country.’

Eight schemes across the country will help landlords create more rooms for rent in shared accommodation. The project will also work with those facing the threat of homelessness.

Councils have received increased requested for emergency welfare following the introduction of the bedroom tax.

Also from the Crisis conference it was stated that 60% of the people of those it effected most was the disabled. There has been a sharp increase reported from councils across Britain for an emergency hardship fund to help cover the personal shortfall in money.

Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) is intended to be paid out as an emergency when someone claiming housing benefit or council tax benefit is having difficulty paying the rest of the rent themselves.

Since the bedroom tax was introduced on 1st April last month, numerous councils in Britain a reporting a huge increase in the demand for the fund.

The government allocated initially £60 million but has had to increase this to £155 million to DHP, and the rise in demand for the fund is the first quantifiable sign that the bedroom tax is making it harder for tenants to meet living costs.

Leeds Council has received 1,256 applications compared with 226 last April.

Sefton Council received 321 applications since 1 April, which is 9x their normal amount.

Southampton Council had 295 applications compared with 75 in April 2012.

Birmingham Council received 2,000 applications in the first two weeks of April, which is 50% more than the figure for the whole of the first quarter of the 2012/13 financial year.

Glasgow Council has received 5,501 applications for April, compared to 1,437 for the same period last year.

Liverpool Council received 1,265 applications in April when it receives an average of 138 a month.

Sheffield Council received around 1,400, compared to an average of just 100 per month throughout the 2012/13 financial year.

Hull, Leicester and Southwark councils all received at least five times as many applications as they would normally receive in a month. Waltham Forest Council’s received 226 applications when their average monthly amount is 72.A total of 12 other local authorities also reported increases.

Spelthorne, Oxford, Harlow, Amber Valley, Suffolk Coastal, Maldon, Wycombe, Welwyn and Hatfield, Telford and Wrekin, Craven, Eastbourne and Derbyshire Dales councils have reported combined DHP applications of 1,070 in April this year, compared to 252 in the same period last year.

This is having a knock on effect on the councils, many expecting a shortfall themselves to cover the necessary funds that are given out to struggling claimants.

DHPs are intended as short term solution, and the government have provided funding as a temporary solution, so what will happen if these short term problems continue to happen every month now that the cut has been introduced?

We want these young people off the streets and into a home and a job. Please help bring awareness to this growing problem and sign the petition. Thank you. http://www.eyh.org.uk/news.html

So have you ever wanted to know what happens to your toiletries when confiscated at the airport well a business man from Slough did and decided he could put them to a use

Slough homeless given hundreds of abandoned airport toiletries
Continue reading the main story

Hundreds of toiletries left by passengers at an airport have been donated to homeless people in Slough. Up to 200 items left at Heathrow Airport security check-ins have been given to ‘Slough Homeless Our Concern’

The charity collects donations every two weeks which are then handed out to its clients at Serena Hall.

Airport restrictions mean liquids are only allowed in hand luggage in containers holding 100ml or less so many items are left at security gates.

Georgie Takhar, director of Maidenhead recruitment firm Muse Resourcing, set up the project after coming up with the idea while queuing at the airport.

Homes brought back to life thanks to Norwich’s homeless.

A project that sees homeless people learning construction skills as they refurbish empty homes and bring them back into use has completed its first flat,

The Make A House A Home scheme is run by St Martin’s Housing Trust in partnership with Norwich City Council, Norwich Leap, Building Futures in Norwich, and CTS (Construction Training Specialists).

It is aiming to bring 10 homes which have been empty for at least six months back into use by April 2015.

Work on the homes is carried out by homeless city people, supported by St Martin’s Housing Trust and Norwich Leap, who are keen to develop new skills, move forward with their lives, and gain a recognised qualification.

Yesterday, the keys for the first refurbished flat were handed over by CTS to St Martin’s Housing Trust, who will now find someone in need of a home to take on the tenancy.

Each construction trainee who has worked on a property will get the chance to bid for it and become the tenant.

The construction trainees complete a six-week training course where they are taught a range of skills including brickwork, carpentry, joinery, painting, plastering, plumbing and wall-papering, as well as gaining an understanding of health and safety issues.

At the end of that course, they head into the property for some real hands-on experience.

One of the success stories is Shaun Newton who hopes the skills he picked up during the eight-week refurbishment will lead to a job.and yesterday, he joined the project’s partners at CTS’ base at White Lodge Business Park in Norwich to collect a certificate acknowledging his hard work and the entry-level qualification he has gained.

Together with five other homeless people, he has helped to get the first flat in Mile Cross ready for a new tenant. Mr Newton who is the same age as me at 42, had been living in a hostel when he first got involved with the project. By the age of 28, both his parents had died and he was struggling to cope. He fell behind on rent payments and became homeless. This scheme has helped Sean (Below with his certificate) and he’s been able to move forward, gain confidence and belief in himself that he can get a job in the future. I wish you luck on the project and in the future.

Travellers jailed for treating homeless men as slaves

The head of an Irish Traveller family and his son were jailed for a total of 13 years yesterday on the 7th May for keeping homeless and vulnerable men captive and treating them like slaves.

Tommy Connors Senior, 53, known as ‘Lyncham’, and his son Patrick Connors, 21, were sentenced to eight and five years respectively.

A jury heard how the family recruited homeless out of work men, often alcoholics, from soup kitchens and off the street with a promise of paid work, food and lodgings.

Judge Michael Kay, passing sentence on the father, said this was a ‘monstrous and callous deceit’ because they were forced to work with no wages and kept against their will in squalid accommodation.

One worker told the police: ‘It was like being an animal in a cage. The animal tended to fly about, then automatically go back to the cage because it was used to it.

‘There was always something, “Clean the cars, clean the yard”. There was never a good day. The travellers used to say: “No pain no gain”.’

Judge Kay said the Connors had recruited hundreds of vulnerable workers over the years who had been subjected to intimidation and threats of violence.

They were forced to live in accommodation such as horseboxes or cold caravans and sheds on a Bedfordshire Travellers’ site and driven to a service station or leisure centre once a week for a shower.

Their heads were shaven and they were given a basic diet such as of biscuits, Pot Noodles or beans and eggs.

Workers were forced to do back-breaking work including paving and laying tarmac and gravel but were not paid while the Connors made thousands of pounds.

The police found £16,000 of cash in the father’s luxury static home on the site and evidence that he had £130,000 in bank deposits.

After the month-long trial yesterday, the jury failed to reach verdicts on two other sons, Tommy Junior, 27 and James, 25 and the prosecution formally offered no evidence against them.

The father and son were sentenced yesterday for crimes they were found guilty of last July of conspiring to hold a person in servitude and conspiring to require a person to perform forced or compulsory labour.

The charges involved two different workers and they were also convicted at the time of assaulting them occasioning them actual bodily harm. The retrial was held as the jury failed to agree on further charges in July last year.

All four members of the Connors family in the latest trial pleaded not guilty to three charges of conspiracy to hold a person in servitude and three of conspiracy to require a person to perform forced labour. The jury retired to consider the verdicts last week, but yesterday announced they were unable to reach verdicts on any of the charges against the four meaning the father and son could be sentenced for the crimes they were found guilty of in the summer last year.

At the end of the first trial last year, the daughter of Tommy Connors Senior and her husband were jailed after being convicted by a jury of keeping vulnerable men in servitude and requiring them to perform forced labour.

Travellers James John Connors, 34, and Josie Connors, 31, were convicted of two counts each of keeping people in servitude at the Greenacres site and jailed for 11 years and four years respectively.

James John Connors, known as ‘Big Jim’ was also convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Bedfordshire Police mounted a raid on the Greenacres Travellers site near Leighton Buzzard in September 2011 to free 13 ‘workers’ being held against their will by Tommy Connors snr and other family members.

A coat developed by a social entrepreneur and designed for homeless people is now a somewhat hot item in the high-end fashion world.

Earlier this month, 23-year-old Veronika Scott said that she had plans to add a for-profit arm to her non-profit company, The Empowerment Plan, which has donated over 1,000 coats to the homeless since launching in late 2010.

Scott’s foray into the private market comes after she debuted the coats at last year’s Aspen Fashion Week to much fanfare, helping her land a $100,000 investment from the billionaire founder of Spanx, Sara Blakely.

Designed for the homeless in her hometown of Detroit, where winter temperatures regularly fall below freezing, the coat doubles as a sleeping bag. And therein lies its instinctive appeal.

“At the end of the day, people gravitate to the coats because it’s easy to understand,” Scott told Crain’s Detroit Business, referring to the apparel’s ability to adapt from clothing to bedding. “But the uniqueness is in what we do and who we hire.”

The Empowerment Plan employs formerly homeless women and trains them to produce the coats. There are now 10 women on staff who were all able to acquire housing after receiving a job and sewing training from the company.

Empowerment aims to make more than 4,000 coats this year, according to PBS. Inspired by the Tom’s Shoes “one-for-one” model, the company plans to donate a free coat to one homeless person with every purchase, Scott told Sustainable Industries.

Known as the “Crazy Coat Lady,” Scott is one of a number of young entrepreneurs in the Detroit area building businesses that seek to solve the city’s social problems, such as its high unemployment, poor access to housing and deficient public transportation.