Councils given £700k to tackle winter homelessness

A total of £700,000 has been given to councils in Sussex and Kent to help tackle homelessness and rough sleeping this winter.

The money comes from a government fund of £10m for 155 local authorities with the greatest pressure from rough sleeping.

The funding given to the councils ranges from £139,115 to £26,000.

On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner chaired the first meeting of a new cross-government group of ministers which aims to work with councils to tackle the root causes of rising homelessness.

Government minsters said this money would be used to target vulnerable groups such as veterans, care leavers and victims of domestic abuse by providing new emergency accommodation and more support to prevent people returning to life on the streets.

Rayner said: “Bringing together ministers across government is a crucial step to tackle this crisis at its root and ensure everyone has access to the basic right of safe and secure housing.”

Brighton & Hove City Council will receive £139,115, Hastings Borough Council has been allocated £97,358 and Eastbourne Borough Council will get £85,473.

In Kent, Canterbury City Council has been allocated £68,431 and Medway Council is set to receive £61,408.

Crawley Borough Council, Gravesham Borough Council, Folkestone and Hythe District Council, Arun District Council, Thanet District Council, Worthing Borough Council and Rother District Council also received grants between £26,000 and £44,000.

The money comes as more children are living in temporary accommodation than ever before, with Hastings seeing the most children in temporary accommodation outside London.

Some council leaders also say the funding does not address the crisis in temporary accommodation spending that threatens local services.

Glenn Haffenden, Hastings Borough Council's deputy leader, said: “This additional funding is helpful, and will help us address rough sleeping over the winter.

"However, there is a predicted overspend of £800,000 for housing this financial year which is mostly due to temporary accommodation.

“The extra funding will not necessarily help us reduce our temporary accommodation spend.”

Both Eastbourne Borough Council and Crawley Borough Council declared housing emergencies in February.

Eastbourne Borough Council's leader Stephen Holt has also campaigned for extra funding to help pay for temporary accommodation which now costs the council £4.5m a year, which accounts for 49p in every £1 of council tax collected.

He said: “Whilst I welcome any new support for homelessness prevention, I am deeply concerned for frontline services without any specific funding announced to support local councils with the unprecedented costs of providing residents with temporary accommodation.“

Follow BBC Sussex on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.