A FIFTH of households identified as homeless in Shropshire last summer were in work, figures reveal.

Homeless charity Crisis said it is "unacceptable" that 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 229 households were entitled to help from Shropshire Council between July and September – 186 of which were assessed as homeless and 43 at risk of becoming so.

Of these, 32 had at least one person working full-time and 12 part-time – 20 per cent of all homeless households in the area whose employment status was known.

There were also five households where the main applicant was a student, or in training, and nine where they were seeking work.

Between July and September 2018, the last time these figures were published for this period, there were 167 households in need of help – with 18 per cent in work.

In Shropshire, 86 households (38 per cent) owed help by the council between July and September had at least one member registered as unemployed, not seeking work, or at home.

A further 58 (26 per cent) could not work due to illness or disability and eight (four per cent) were retired.

A quarter of households identified as homeless in Cheshire West and Chester last summer were in work.

There were 447 households entitled to help from Cheshire West and Chester Council between July and September – 290 of which were assessed as homeless and 157 at risk of becoming so.

Of these, 72 had at least one person working full-time and 38 part-time – 25 per cent of all homeless households in the area whose employment status was known.

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 are eased.

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.”

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