£413k extra cost of housing homeless

A SOMERSET council is set to spend £400,000 more than expected on providing bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people in its area.

Taunton Deane Borough Council has a legal duty to provide accommodation for all homeless people, under legislation introduced in 2018.

The council allocated money to this end in its annual budget, including funds to pay for bed and breakfast accommodation while more permanent solutions can be found.

But a report has revealed that it is predicting a six-figure overspend on this kind of temporary accommodation.

Andrew Stark, the council’s interim finance manager, addressed the issue at a scrutiny committee meeting in Taunton on Tuesday.

He said in his written report: “The cost of bed and breakfast expenditure is forecast to exceed budget estimates by £413,000. This will be funded in 2018/19 by the use of reserves and grants received.

“The council has a statutory duty to house people who find themselves homeless. The number of homeless people has increased in 2018/19 compared to 2017/18.”

The Homelessness Reduction Act, which came into force last April, requires all councils to house homeless people in their district until accommodation can be provided.

Until that point, councils were only legally obliged to provide accommodation for a maximum of 28 days.

Cllr Libby Lisgo said the number of homeless people in Taunton Deane “had peaked before Christmas” at 80 per night, and was now “between 40 and 50 on a nightly basis”.

Cllr Ross Henley said this was “a national problem” and asked whether people were being rehoused outside of the borough.

He said: “There is not enough affordable housing for rent; that is one of the reasons we are having this problem.

“Some areas of the country are in such a position that they are having to house people in hotels miles away from the heart of their community. Can we have assurances that this is not happening here?”

Mr Stark said he was not aware of any Taunton Deane residents being temporarily rehomed outside of the area. He also promised the original budget figures for bed and breakfast accommodation would be provided to all councillors in due course.

Even with this overspend in place, the council is projected to underspend its budget for 2018/19 by around £124,000, against a net budget of £13m.

Further reports on the council’s financial position and homelessness record will come forward after the local elections in May, when Taunton Deane and West Somerset’s councils will be formally replaced by Somerset West and Taunton Council.