Councils struggling to maintain homelessness services

New analysis by the Local Government Association has revealed that more than two-thirds of all council homelessness services in England have been pushed into the red.

Figures compiled by the LGA show that nearly seven in 10 council homelessness services are having to spend more than they planned to on homelessness support, as a result of the increasing cost of using expensive bed and breakfast accommodation to place families.

Council leaders are now warning that having homelessness services at breaking point is leaving councils with no choice but to place more and more families in temporary accommodation including bed and breakfasts. Local authority spending in England on placing families in bed and breakfasts rose by more than a fifth in the last year alone, from £93.3 million in 2017/18 to £114.9 million in 2018/19.

As a result of rising homelessness pressures, temporary accommodation placements by councils have risen by almost 80 per cent since December 2010, with an increase of more than 200 per cent also noted in bed and breakfast accommodation being used over the same period.

The LGA is urging the government to use the Budget to provide councils with sustainable, long-term funding to prevent homelessness in the first place. As part of this, it needs to give councils the powers and funding to spark a genuine renaissance in council house-building to provide the social homes for rent that are desperately needed to help boost affordability, home ownership and reduce homelessness.

David Renard, LGA’s housing spokesman, said: “Homelessness is a tragedy for every individual who experiences it and one of the most pressing issues facing councils and the government. To reverse rising levels of homelessness, which represents huge human consequences and financial costs, the Government needs to invest in homelessness prevention.

“Councils want to work with government to be able to prevent homelessness before it happens, but as a result of unprecedented funding pressures, they are becoming increasingly limited in what they can do. We desperately need to be able to build more social housing to reduce the number of families being placed in temporary accommodation and bed and breakfasts. With adequate funding and powers, councils can boost efforts to prevent homelessness and get back to building the affordable homes the country needs.”