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Temporary accommodation spend in England hits £1.6bn
Local councils in England spent a total of £1.6bn on temporary accommodation last year – a 4% increase from the previous year.
Housing charity Shelter said that government figures on temporary accommodation for homeless households in England during 2021-22 showed councils spent £1.6bn between April 2021 and March 2022. This was an increase of 61% compared with five years ago.
Of the total bill, a quarter (£407m) was spent on emergency B&Bs and hostels, with spending on B&Bs alone increasing by 20% in the past five years.
The bill also included £160m that was spent on administering temporary accommodation by local authorities.
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Although temporary accommodation is mainly funded by government spending, some homeless households also have to contribute towards the costs through household income.
Shelter said its own research, which surveyed homeless households in temporary accommodation, showed that a third (33%) said they have had to turn to foodbanks.
In addition, around half (47%) said they have had to borrow money to cover the costs of their temporary accommodation.
Recent research from thinktank Centre for London found there were almost 75,000 children currently living in temporary accommodation in London. These were part of the 56,6500 households that currently live in this type of housing in the capital.
Commenting on Shelter’s research, chief executive Polly Neate said: “It defies all logic to shell out over £1.6bn on grim B&Bs and grotty flats, instead of helping people to keep hold of their home in the first place.”
She added: “Allowing homelessness to rise unchecked during the cost of living crisis will only cost more in the long run. The government must unfreeze housing benefit now so people can pay their rent. And to end homelessness altogether, it needs to build decent, truly affordable social homes.”
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