Temporary Accommodation Reaches Record High in Brighton
The number of people in temporary accommodation hit 2,292 in June, in Brighton, this year and breaks the previous 5 year high. Whilst it is always nice to break records, this is one of those no one wants to achieve.
During the first part of this year, almost 50 households a week were asking for help from the Council qualified as homeless and in need of housing.
Labour councillor Gill Williams, cabinet member for housing, said it was shifting towards early intervention and prevention, and was increasing the number of affordable and council-owned rental properties.
The council overspend on temporary housing is forecast to be around £1.3 million pounds. Mainly due to using hotels and private landlords because of a lack of council owned accommodation.
This is a pattern being repeated all over the country and highlights the need for councils to increase their available stock but this, in turn, comes with its own financial barriers.
Ambitious Housebuilding Pledges Face Funding Questions
Country wide the number of children in temporary accommodation hit a record number of 177,530 according to government figures released in August. That’s an increase of 5%. At the same time the number of households in temporary accommodation has risen by nearly 4%.
The Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to introduce “the biggest council house-building programme since the postwar period” to tackle this issue.
One good piece of news is that the number of children in B&B accommodation has fallen in the last quarter.
Many of those in temporary accommodation state that the biggest problem is the rental prices of homes in the private sector and a lack of any affordable housing and/or council housing being available, one saying “My issue is the government allowing landlords to skyrocket rental prices, which are not in line with salaries, it doesn’t add up.”
“It is shameful that a record number of children are growing up without a home because decades of political failure have choked off the supply of genuinely affordable social homes,” said Sarah Elliot, chief executive of housing charity Shelter.
The Labour government pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the course of this Parliament but is currently not on course to meet that target.
This reporter will be watching the October budget to see how the government plans to fund ”The biggest council house-building programme since the postwar period”.
Prison Leavers at Increased Risk of Homelessness
The number of Prison leavers released to No Fixed Address (NFA) is estimated to be 1 in 6 in London alone reports Nacro.
Up to 50,000 people in England are so-called “prolific offenders”, trapped in cycles of repeated low-level crime, like shoplifting and drug possession, according to the charity.
Most of these people, which costs the criminal justice system an estimated £242m each year, have complex issues involving mental health and addiction, and are living in poverty or on the streets.
“Services just aren’t set up for the complexities these people have,” Kelly Grehan said, adding that for people coming out of prison, it is quite common to be placed in unsuitable accommodation, “exacerbating these problems”.
Probation services are bracing themselves for the Governments latest Early release programme which will see an additional 5,000 people being released early to make room in an inadequate prison system.
Tania Bassett is a national official at Napo (the trade union for probation staff) has been working in the Probation Service for 20 years, and says it is suffering from a “chronic workload crisis”.
“The crisis we have at the moment is going to be exacerbated, and that translates into less prisoner support,” Bassett said.
The government, in response to a request for comment said “This government inherited a prison system on the brink of collapse and a homelessness crisis with rough sleeping having more than doubled since 2010.”
They added that the government aimed to halve prison leaver homelessness by 2029, had invested £700m in probation and community services, and announced a national effort to end rough sleeping.
‘Everyone In for Christmas’: A New National Homelessness Strategy
Which brings this reporter on to the next subject of this update.
“Everyone in for Christmas” is the statement made by the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnam. Andy has stated that he is “Making the tackling of Homelessness a number one priority for his government” after his success in Manchester as the Mayor.
“No matter who they are or what they’ve been through, every person sleeping rough deserves a chance to get back on their feet – and, together, that’s exactly what we’ll give them.” The Prime Minister said.
A statement greeted with great excitement by those organisations working in the homeless sector.
The prime minister said he wanted to build on the success of Everyone In, a Covid pandemic scheme that saw thousands of rough sleepers housed in hotels and temporary accommodation. About 37,000 people were helped by the scheme following its launch in March 2020.
As well as providing immediate support get people off the streets, the plan is also designed to deliver over 1,000 homes over the next three years to provide rough sleepers with permanent accommodation. The plan will also provide “intensive wraparound support,” typically psychiatric and drug and alcohol services to help people rebuild their lives.
The Prime Minister will be organising a special conference in the Autumn, so that’s any time now, with business, charities and faith groups to outline how they can help tackle the problem. The government will also work with councils and mayors to devise local solutions with the areas with the biggest problem receiving the most support.
Sarah Elliott, Shelter’s chief executive, called Burnham’s pledge a “game-changing move”.
She said “tackling the most visible form of homelessness is a strong start” but urged the prime minister to act on his promise to build more council houses to help people living in temporary accommodation.
Everyone is watching this closely to see exactly what does come out of the plan!
It’s good to see the government making pledges, promises, and plans to address the housing and homelessness crisis that has existed for many years and governments, but the proof of the pudding is always in the eating, so to speak.
