In order for the government to meet its obligations under the Homelessness Act 2002, it will need to tackle problems faced by homeless and socially excluded young people in rural areas, according to new research by the charity Centrepoint.

The research findings indicate that a lack of affordable housing is the most significant issue facing homeless young people in the countryside today.

Forum Response: Centrepoint

Anthony Lawton, chief executive of Centrepoint, told ePolitix.com: "If the government's new Homelessness Directorate is to oversee the development of a comprehensive homelessness strategy by every local authority, it is crucial that we challenge the perception that homelessness is only an urban issue. Although we are aware of many innovative and effective local responses to need, our research shows that there is clearly still a need to develop wider awareness of this issue in rural areas.

"In particular, there is an urgent need for the government to prioritise affordable housing for young people. Young people who become homeless in rural areas are keen to stay close to their support networks, but if there is no housing available locally this is simply not possible. If key workers cannot afford to live in the rural areas in which they work, then how much more difficult is it for socially excluded young people to remain in their communities?"

Forum Response: The Countryside Agency

Margaret Clark of The Countryside Agency told ePolitix.com: "For many young people the rural idyll really is a myth. Finding a job, getting to training, health care and other essential services, or simply having fun, is an uphill task.

"At the same time many of them have nowhere to live and will have to move miles away from friends and family, just to get a roof over their heads. Access to safe, secure and affordable housing, as this report shows, is critical but it has to be looked at alongside the need for jobs and services, if we are really to encourage and enable young people to build their futures in rural communities.

"The Countryside Agency attaches high priority to finding ways of achieving real improvements in the prospects for young people in rural areas. We will do this by working with government and others, and through our partnership with Centrepoint."

Forum Response: Countryside Alliance

Adrian Yalland of the Countryside Alliance told ePolitix.com: "Affordable housing is increasingly an issue for the whole country, but is particularly acute in rural areas, where incomes are lower and house prices higher than national averages. Whilst homelessness in cities is falling because the government has specifically targeted it, it is continuing to rise in rural areas at an alarming rate (up 12 per cent in recent years). There are over 16,000 families in rural areas which are considered priority homeless and new housing developments often fail to consider the needs of 'local' people and concentrate on the needs of those migrating into rural areas.

"The net migration of 1,700 people a week to rural areas (most of whom do not work in the rural location in which they live) means rural properties are in high demand and will cost in excess of 15 per cent more than a similar sized property in a non-rural area. This makes the situation for first time buyers or young people with families particularly difficult - especially if they work locally and do not benefit from the higher wages that are paid in non-rural areas.

"Many young people cannot therefore afford to continue to live in the areas where they were born and raised and are effectively forced to move away from their families, all of which adversely affects the social and economic demography of many rural areas. Many rural areas face becoming mere 'dormitories' for urban workers who work and spend in urban areas but who commute to the country for evenings and weekends.

"One of the major problems is the shortage of social housing. The Housing Corporation spends just 3.4 per cent of its overall budget on rural areas - which is vastly disproportionate to both the need off and numbers living in rural areas.

"The Alliance is calling for new powers to be given to district and parish councils to enter into housing partnership schemes with the Housing Corporation and housing associations to create affordable social housing. In particular, the Alliance wants to see the buy-back arrangements established by the Rural Housing Association extended. This should be mirrored by an increase in public funding for registered social landlords. Public funding for social housing continues to fall.

"The Alliance also calls for a review of how derelict and vacant properties can be used to create affordable housing. In particular, reducing VAT rates to make it cheaper to refurbish old housing stock or convert derelict buildings than building new houses is essential."