£3m homelessness overspend in Coventry
ANOTHER £3 million overspend on homelessness is to be reported by Coventry council this year, with a national body warning services are “being pushed to breaking point”.
More than two thirds of councils reported overspends last year, according to the Local Government Association which represents local authorities.
Coventry City Council is forecast to chalk up a £2.8m overspend in housing and homelessness this year as pressure continues to mount.
It recorded a similar overspend on its £5.9m housing and homelessness budget last year despite extra money being pumped in, and has so far been unable to reduce costs.
At an audit board this week, finance boss Paul Jennings partly blamed the significant overspend on a failure to deliver Caradoc Hall on time.
The lease of the highrise tower block was agreed in 2018 to provide a cheaper alternative to expensive temporary accommodation such as B&Bs and hotels - which can cost up to £100 a night.
But a 12-month delay due to complications over the refurbishment meant the authority could not use the building until December last year, although it is expected to be full by this week.
Mr Jennings said: “We know some of the temporary accommodation solutions - in particular Caradoc Hall - has not come on stream as quickly as was planned.
“That has stopped us placing people in Caradoc and removing the cost of putting people in temporary accommodation.”
Figures released by the LGA show nearly seven in 10 authorities (226 out of 326) spent more than they budgeted for on homelessness in 2018/19.
It has put that down to rising demand and shortage of affordable social housing, urging for more “sustainable, long-term” funding for councils.
Deputy cabinet member for housing Cllr David Welsh said: “We agree with the LGA that there is a national housing crisis and the number of households living in temporary accommodation across the country has increased significantly since 2010.
“We have a homelessness prevention service that has been in place now for 19 months.
“Our priority is to work with families and individuals to prevent people losing their home in the first place.”
Latest figures show that council spending in England on placing families in bed and breakfasts rose by more than a fifth in the last year alone, from £93.3m in 2017/18 to £114.9m in 2018/19.
The number of homeless households currently in bed and breakfast accommodation is also at a 15-year high - 7,110.
This has been a particular problem for Coventry in recent years, with a £570,000 spend on temporary accommodation in 2013/14 shooting up to a staggering £5.5m as of 2018/19.
Aside from Caradoc Hall, others measures are being drawn up to reduce this, including a new temporary accommodation charging policy to cover costs of utilities and council tax.
As of January, 689 people are in temporary accommodation in Coventry, with 390 of those families with children.
Cllr Welsh added: “Of those Coventry families with dependent children who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation none are living in B&B/hostels but are all living in selfcontained flats or houses dispersed across the city.
“Although this accommodation is temporary it does mean that each family has its own front door, bathroom and kitchen facilities.
“Buildings recently leased like Caradoc Hall provide more cost effective solutions and better quality accommodation for families, it will also deliver a saving of £1m per annum.
“We hope to be announcing other schemes soon.”