Banbury's MP Tony Baldry has called on the Government to recognise the problems of homelessness in north Oxfordshire.

Speaking in the House of Commons he listed a lack of funding and a shortage of affordable housing as the main problems.

He said Cherwell District Council's homelessness strategy was not being matched by central Government grants and that north Oxfordshire had been left out of Labour's affordable housing plans.

Mr Baldry said: "Homelessness is just as likely to happen in Oxfordshire as in an inner city area, yet funds for the homeless are frequently focused on the inner cities."

He said Cherwell was under "intolerable pressure" to meet the targets of the Homelessness Act 2002, but there was little scope for the council to address the issue beyond actually finding accommodation for those in need.

"The 2002 Act asked all local authorities to devise a strategy to tackle homelessness in their areas," said Mr Baldry. "Cherwell came up with an excellent scheme which focuses primarily on temporary accommodation for single homeless people. Given the cost of buying or renting a house in the area, it is worth noting that the district council has received only £122,000 to implement their strategy."

Mr Baldry said none of the Government's £22bn earmarked last year for affordable housing had gone to Cherwell.