A shocking new report has revealed the extent of the homelessness crisis in the UK, as cash-strapped local councils are not getting the support they need to deal with the issue.
In 2022/23, £2.4 billion was been spent on homelessness services, more than double the 2010/11 figure. This is putting a massive strain on local authority finances, according to the report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) on Tuesday.
Some authorities are reporting that around half of their budget is going on homelessness services. In 2022/23 local authorities spent £1.6 billion on temporary accommodation alone.
Statutory homelessness is now at the highest level since records began, says the landmark report.
In 2022/23, £2.4 billion was been spent on homelessness services, more than double the 2010/11 figure. This is putting a massive strain on local authority finances.
The report authors say that several of the councils they spoke to said they would likely have to issue a Section 114 notice due to the issue, similar to bankruptcy. This is what happened to Birmingham and Nottingham councils last year.
The findings also show that there are more than 100,000 households in temporary accomodation, up by third since 2017. This has put more than 145,000 children in these short-term living situations.
A map from the spending watchdog shows where the use of temporary accomodation is most prevalent in the UK:
In the face of this, local councils are forced to take short-term and non cost-effective measures to meet the rising demand.
These local authorities will often look to temporary accomodation as a short-term measure, often placing people in bed and breakfasts.
This practice has sky-rocketed over the past few years, with 15,950 households in bed and breakfasts in 2023/24, a 42 per cent increase in two years.
And even though keeping households in such accomodation for longer than six months is unlawful, there are still 3,000 households with children stuck in this situation.
Some authorities will even turn to booking a bed and breakfast on the same day they need it, the report’s authors found, a practice that is cost-effective and causes stress for families who don’t know where they will be staying.
The NAO last reported on homelessness in 2017, just before the Homelessness Reduction Act was brought in by Theresa May’s Conservative government.
The act put a duty on local housing authorities to prevent or relieve homelessness. But seven years later, they say their report shows the problem has become worse than ever.
The landmark report also shows that around a quarter of households applying for homelessness support in 2023/24 did so after the ending of a private rental tenancy.
Government housing benefit rates have been outpaced by rental price increases in the past year, it points out, meaning more people are being pushed into homelessness.
The findings show that a mixture of council underfunding and increased costs to households is creating an unsustainable environment.
The report recommends that the Department for Levelling Up (now the ministry of Housing) consider how it might better support local authorities and give them the funding to make plans in the long-term.
The Independent recently reported on the plight of households, many with children, who are being refused housing help by under-pressure councils.