‘The conditions highlighted by the M.E.N. are clearly unacceptable and do not meet the standards either we or the public expect’
AFTER the M.E.N. presented its findings to the town hall, it is understood extra officers have now been drafted in to up its inspection regime.
Sue Murphy, deputy leader and the lead for homelessness, said the ‘sheer scale’ of the demand on its homeless service makes placing families ‘an ongoing challenge’.
She said: “Homeless families in temporary accommodation have an absolute right to decent living conditions, something we endeavour to ensure.
“The amount of temporary accommodation properties we are having to commission has gone up from 128 in 2014 to 1,400 this year. These properties meet an important need in putting a roof over people’s heads in the short term while more permanent accommodation is identified.
“The conditions highlighted here by the MEN are clearly unacceptable and do not meet the standards either we or the public would expect.”
The council was spending an extra £2m next year on homelessness services, she said, with cutting the number of families in B&Bs a priority.
It was also planning to buy up around 60 family homes across the city for temporary housing.
“While we take them extremely seriously in their own right, we don’t believe that the shocking examples of conditions highlighted by the MEN reflect the experience of the majority of families in temporary accommodation,” she added. Less than three per cent of properties - 41 out of 1,400 - have been the subject of a complaint either to the council or other agencies, she said.
“But we are reviewing our inspection process, drawing on the expertise of partner agencies, to further ensure its rigour.
“In the case of B&Bs, families are only placed in them on a short-term emergency basis and the time they stay is kept as short as possible. On average, this is less than 18 days before they move on to other temporary accommodation.
“B&Bs are inspected on a rolling basis but the council also employs B&B support workers who visit B&Bs daily to work with families to address any issues about conditions raised by them, as well as supporting child safeguarding. NHS health workers also work with families placed in B&Bs to ensure appropriate support and accommodation.
“In the case of both homes used for temporary accommodation and B&Bs, we are reviewing the inspection regime with a view to further strengthening it.”
However she said the root cause of the crisis lies at the government’s door. “Theresa May said austerity was over. “But this is the real sharp end of it. Here you can see the impact of cuts to council services and to benefits – we need to improve services, but the impact of the number of people coming in to the council makes it really difficult to cope,” she said.