Record amount spent on homeless families

Cost Charnwood £256,000 in B&Bs in a year

COUNCILS in Leicestershire are spending a record amount on housing homeless families in B&Bs.

At £488,000 in 2018/19, the amount spent on B&Bs is the highest it has been since comparable records began in 2008/09, with Charnwood Borough Council footing the largest council bill of £256,000 and four councils not spending a single penny during the same period.

The amount of money spent on B&Bs across Leicester and Leicestershire, was up by 80 per cent from £271,000 in 2017/18, and triple the £151,000 spent in 2008/09.

In total, the amount of money spent on temporary accommodation by councils in Leicester and Leicestershire, has fallen by from £1.2 million in 2017/18 to £1.0 million in 2018/19, and it was down from £10.7 million in 2008/09.

But in parts of Leicester and Leicestershire spending on temporary accommodation is at its highest level since at least 2008/09, with a 27% rise in Charnwood to £257,000.

In North West Leicestershire the bill was £120,000, with £56,000 of that spent on B&B accommodation.

Across England, councils spent £1.1 billion on temporary accommodation for homeless households in 2018/2019. This was up 9% in the last year and compares to £787.7 million in 2008/09.

Responding to the figures when they were published, Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “These figures are a shocking, yet entirely preventable consequence of our housing emergency.

“If consecutive governments had built the genuinely affordable social homes that are needed, fewer people would be homeless, and we would not be wasting vast sums on unsuitable temporary accommodation.

“What’s even more shameful is that so much of this public money is lining the pockets of unscrupulous private landlords, who can charge desperate councils extortionate rates for grim B&Bs, because there’s nowhere else for families to go.

“No family should have to live in a tiny room where there’s nowhere to even cook a meal, or any safe space for their children to play.”

Nearly a third (32 per cent) of the total was spent on B&Bs – £344 million.

Spending on B&Bs has increased more than doubled from £146.2 million in 2008/09.

Shelter said increase was largely due to a shortage of affordable accommodation, meaning councils may have no choice but to use emergency B&Bs.

The Local Government Association said: “It is a tragedy when anyone becomes homeless and the last thing councils want to be doing is placing people in bed and breakfast accommodation.

“Councils place families in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs as a last resort after exhausting all their options.

“Not only is this far from ideal for families, it is very expensive for councils, who are already under significant financial pressures. councils would much rather use these scarce resources to build more affordable homes and prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place.

“Councils are doing all they can to build more homes but want to work with the new government to see councils get the further powers and funding they need to build desperately needed affordable new homes. This should include urgent reform to the Right to Buy scheme, to enable councils to keep all sales receipts and set discounts locally.”