Homelessness crisis 'putting services at risk'

The leader of a council in East Sussex has warned that a "homelessness crisis" and the cost of temporary accommodation continue to put local services at "great risk".

Stephen Holt, leader of Eastbourne Borough Council (EBC), said the authority was managing a multi-million pound funding gap "caused by unprecedented numbers of families in temporary accommodation".

He said the council was spending almost £5m a year on temporary accommodation - nearly a third of its annual spending on local services.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesperson said the government was taking urgent action to end homelessness, including by committing £1bn to support services.

Holt said there were 246 families in temporary accommodation in Eastbourne and "most are there because of the cost of living crisis, unaffordable mortgage and rent payments, and no-fault evictions".

"We repeatedly called on the previous government, and have repeated those calls to the new government, that all the councils dealing with these issues need urgent financial support," he added.

The leader of the Liberal Democrat-run council said a strategy was needed that would "solve the homelessness crisis for good" and allow the council to return to a sustainable financial footing.

Holt added: "Having been forced to make some incredibly painful decisions to reduce the 25-26 net budget by £7m, the costs of temporary accommodation mean we will still need additional funding from the government to set a balanced budget."

The MHCLG spokesperson said: "We will go even further to fix these housing challenges by building the social and affordable homes we need as part of our Plan for Change, while the deputy prime minister is also chairing a new inter-ministerial group dedicated to tackling the root causes of homelessness."

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