ALMOST one in five households identified as homeless in parts of Tees Valley last summer were in work, figures reveal.

Homeless charity Crisis said it is “unacceptable” there are thousands of people in paid work but without a home across England during the coronavirus pandemic, and called for long-term investment in social housing.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data shows 159 households were entitled to help from Darlington Borough Council between July and September – 97 of which were assessed as homeless and 62 at risk of becoming so.

Of these, 17 had at least one person working full-time and eight part-time – 16 per cent of all homeless households in the area whose employment status was known.

Between July and September 2018, the last time these figures were published for this period, there were 193 households in need of help – with 17 per cent in work.

In Redcar and Cleveland, almost 20 per cent of those eligible for help were in part or full time work, while in Hartlepool the figure stood at just under 22 per cent. In Middlesbrough, it was just under 10 per cent and in Stockton 18 per cent.

Across England, almost a quarter (15,590) of households assessed as homeless had full-time or part-time jobs between July and September last year.

Crisis said the situation could have been even worse without the uplift in Universal Credit and the furlough scheme, but that people will continue to struggle when restrictions ease.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “It’s unacceptable that thousands of people in England cannot afford a place to live, despite being in work.

“We are calling on the Westminster Government to provide emergency grants and loans to renters who have been forced into arrears by the pandemic and extend the benefit cap grace period until the end of the pandemic.

“But we must not lose sight of the fact that homelessness amongst workers has existed long before Covid-19 and to end it once and for all, we need long-term investment in affordable housing.”

Housing charity Shelter said less than half of households found to be homeless nationwide were not helped to find a home – showing the impact of a lack of suitable social housing.

The three most common triggers of homelessness in England between July and September were households no longer being able to stay with families and friends, the loss of a private tenancy and domestic abuse.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said thousands of people are struggling to survive the “never-ending nightmare” of the pandemic, as a result of decades of “political neglect”.

A spokeswoman for the Government said it had provided “unprecedented support” for renters during the pandemic through the evictions ban and welfare support.

She added that over £700 million was being provided to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this year, and over £12 billion in affordable housing over five years.