Against the background of the new blocks being built by Quintain, unaffordable for local families, Somali women protested outside Brent Civic Centre this week. Their message was clear: Somali families as a result of the housing crisis are being forced out of Brent by the Council disrupting family links and the education of their children.
@Selina_Bakkar tweeted Cllr Butt from the demonstration and asked him to come out and meet the women, saying 'Can you come out and speak to the women. They are fighting for their children not to be displaced':
Modern day ethnic cleansing? The claim- Somali families are being pushed out of Brent. Some families are being forced to pay thousands to stay or children are being moved whilst studying for their GCSE's.Brent Council tweeted back:
Brent Council takes every household’s needs into consideration with every housing offer made. We give priority to homeless applicants with children taking GCSEs to be rehoused in Brent. But when this is not possible due to a lack of affordable accommodation, we offer homeless households the opportunity to move out of unsatisfactory b&b accommodation and into good quality, permanent accommodation within reasonable travelling distance to their priorities.Selina responded with the evidence below of a family being moved to Hatfield:
She claimed this was breaching the Council's statement regarding priority being given to GCSE students and said, 'This is causing the family distress at a crucial time especially for the young girls sitting exams. Has the regeneration accommodated for existing residence or is the solution to push them out?'