Kingston and Surbiton MP Sir Ed Davey has secured a second reading for his bill to help terminally ill homeless people into housing.
Current rules state that if a person is deemed “intentionally homeless” by the council, there is no duty to house them, even if they have or develop a terminal illness.
Sir Ed presented the Homelessness (End of Life Care) bill to parliament in a Ten Minute Rule Motion on Wednesday, February 6.
He said: “It is absolutely shocking that here in the UK, in 2018, people with terminal illnesses, in desperate need of end of life care, are dying on our streets.
“The bill that I’m launching in Parliament seeks to tackle this issue by ending the application of the ‘intentionality rule’ to people who are terminally ill and place a duty on local authorities to provide them with appropriate accommodation.
“I want to urge the Government to do the right thing and support my Bill to ensure that people are no longer left on our streets to die, but are instead provided with decent care and support at the end of their lives.”
Speaking in Parliament, Sir Ed said the idea for the bill came from his wife Emily, a housing lawyer.
He said rough sleepers die on average aged just 47, go to A&E six times more often, and are admitted to hospital four times more often, staying three times as long.
The second reading will take place on March 16.
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