Text 13

The number of homeless pensioners across England has hit a record high, with more than
2,500 people over the age of 60 now without a home, figures show. Campaigners have
warned that elderly people are “bearing the brunt” of the housing crisis after official data
revealed the figure has surged by 115 per cent in eight years. A total of 2,520 over-60s were
recorded as being homeless by their local council in the past year, compared with 1,170
in 2009-10. Some will be in temporary accommodation, but others will be sofa surfing and
sleeping on the streets.
There has also been a sharp rise in the number of single parent families who are
homeless or living in temporary accommodation, with the figure now standing at 38,390 – an
increase of 54 per cent in the past five years. The data shows lone parent families are
disproportionality affected by homelessness, accounting for 63 per cent of all families living
in temporary accommodation, despite making up just 23 per cent of all families in England.
It comes amid a continuing rise in overall homelessness – with 79,880 households
living in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2018 – up 3 per cent on a year
earlier. Of these, 77 per cent (61,190) included dependent children and/or a pregnant woman.
An analysis by Shelter1 earlier this month showed that of the 1.15 million
households currently on waiting lists, at least 310,500 have been waiting to be moved into
social homes for more than half a decade, with some having waited for as many as 18 years.
Responding to the new figures, John Healey, the shadow housing secretary, said the
“shocking” rise in homelessness since 2010 should “shame Conservative ministers”. He
continued: “Homelessness fell at an unprecedented rate under Labour, but after eight years of
failure on housing under the Tories, 123,000 children are now without a home. This is a
direct result of Conservative decisions: a steep drop in investment for affordable homes, cuts
to housing benefit, reduced funding for homelessness services, and a refusal to help private
renters.”
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “The fact that an increasing
number of older people were without even the basic security of a home is a national wake-up
call. It’s terrible to think of any older person having nowhere to call home, and these
worrying new figures show that homelessness in old age is becoming a really significant
social problem & one we need to get a grip on as a nation, and fast.” 

Exercise 1 – Match the following definitions to words/expressions in the text

1
A UK charity that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing.

1
  the practice of staying temporarily with various friends and relatives while attempting
to find permanent accommodation SOFA SURFING
 having no home, and therefore typically living on the streets HOMELESS
 a number representing a particular amount, especially one given in official
information FIGURE
 Fundamental; primary BASIC
 Intense SHARPE
 move suddenly and powerfully forward or upward. SURGE
 a house and its occupants regarded as a unit. HOUSEHOLD
 to receive the main force of something unpleasant BEAR THE BRUNT
 a thing that alerts people to an unsatisfactory situation and prompts them to remedy it
WAKE UP CALL
 keep or recover one's self-control. GET A GRIP
 Abrupt: STEEP

(One more word to say ‘homeless’ is ‘rough sleeper’!)

Exercise 2 – Summarise the text briefly and write down your point of view on the topic.
Questions to think about are ‘what could be done the improve the situation of homeless
people?’, ‘is the situation similar to what we have in Italy or is it different?’.

 Reported speech (see PDF)

Exercise 3 – Transform these direct speeches of text 13 into indirect ones

John Healy: “Homelessness fell at an unprecedented rate under Labour, but after eight years
of failure on housing under the Tories, 123,000 children are now without a home.This is a
direct result of Conservative decisions: a steep drop in investment for affordable homes, cuts
to housing benefit, reduced funding for homelessness services, and a refusal to help private
renters.”

John Healy said that homelessness had fallen at an unprecedented rate under Labour, but
after eight years of failure on housing under the Tories, 123,000 childrenwere then without a
home. This was a direct result...

Caroline Abrahams: “The fact that an increasing number of older people were without even
the basic security of a home is a national wake-up call. It’s terrible to think of any older
person having nowhere to call home, and these worrying new figures show that homelessness
in old age is becoming a really significant social problem & one we need to get a grip on as a
nation, and fast.” 

2
Caroline Abrahamsstated that the fact that an increasing number of older people were/had
been[sarebbecorrettoanchelasciando al past simple, quindi senza backshift] without even the
basic security of a home was a national wake-up call. She also said thatit wasterrible to
think of any older person having nowhere to call home, and these worrying new figures
showedthat homelessness in old agewasbecoming a really significant social problem & one
we needed to get a grip on as a nation, and fast.

Exercise 4 – Choose the correct form to complete the sentence

1. 'My best friend at school became a nurse first, then a paramedic.' → He told me that
his best friend at school __HAD BECOME________ a nurse first, then a paramedic.

Was becoming
Had become
Has become

2. 'I had lived in four countries by the age of ten.' → She said that she __HAD
LIVED_______ in four countries by the age of ten.

Lived
Was living
Had lived

3. 'I commute 45 minutes to work.' → She told me that she _COMMUTED_______ 45

minutes to work, but I bet it takes longer now with the roadworks.

Has commuted
Commuted
Had commuted

4. 'We were hoping to have our wedding in June.' → She told me that they __HAD
BEEN HOPING_______to have their wedding in June. In the end, though, they got
married in September.

Had been hoping

Are hoping
Have been hoping

5. 'Oh, hi, Ethan! I'm just leaving, unfortunately.' → When I got there I saw him, but he
said he ____WAS JUST LEAVING____.

Is just leaving
Was just leaving
Had just left

3
 6. 'I told Dom to email you three days ago.' → She said that she had told Dom to email
me three days __BEFORE_______, but it's been a week now and I still haven't heard.

Then
Ago
before