Rising homelessness sees Sheffield Council spend £7.9m on temporary accommodation in one year

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Rising homelessness in Sheffield cost the city council nearly £8 million in temporary accommodation costs in the last year.

According to FOI requests by Personal Injury Claims UK, providing temporary accommodation (TA) to the homeless in the city cost Sheffield Council £3,642,907, in the 2021/22 financial year.

This past year (2023/24) the figure rose to £7,925,674 - an increase of 117.5 per cent.

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Homelessness has been rising across the country.Homelessness has been rising across the country.
Homelessness has been rising across the country. | PA

Homelessness is rising across the UK and it is no different in Sheffield. Local charity, The Archer Project, has previously reported they were seeing 110 people access their services for support every day - a significant leap from 70 per day they have seen previously.

Tim Renshaw, chief executive officer of the Archer Project, said: “There are a number of factors that have combined to increase overall homelessness and rough sleeping.

“I would argue that our social policies have been building to this over the last ten years with insufficient funding to support people to leave homelessness permanently and an underinvestment in housing, and policies that widen the health inequalities.

Tim Renshaw of the Archer Project in Sheffield has told how there are a number of factors leading to the rise in homelessness.Tim Renshaw of the Archer Project in Sheffield has told how there are a number of factors leading to the rise in homelessness.
Tim Renshaw of the Archer Project in Sheffield has told how there are a number of factors leading to the rise in homelessness.

“However, the financial crisis and the sudden investment in reducing the number of migrants in detention facilities or Home Office funded accommodation has brought things to a head.”

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Mr Renshaw added they see recurring themes in many presentations locally.

He said: “I believe that friends and families being unable to continue to support people, and evictions from private rented accommodation are both consistently in the top three reasons.

Rising rent costs and the cost of living crisis are both said to be factors exaserbating the homelessness crisis.Rising rent costs and the cost of living crisis are both said to be factors exaserbating the homelessness crisis.
Rising rent costs and the cost of living crisis are both said to be factors exaserbating the homelessness crisis. | Andrew Roe

“It suggests that the ‘cost of living’ crisis is a big factor. The cost of living has affected low income families the most and if they have been supporting a friend or family member the extra cost has become too great.

“The private rented sector has been affected by changing mortgage costs and rental increases make properties unaffordable for the lowest incomes.

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“A third reason in presentations near the top of the list is fleeing domestic abuse. I have no in-depth knowledge of domestic abuse work but financial pressures in households are cause for disagreements so this may well be linked to the ‘cost-of living’ pressures.”

The Archer Project for Sheffield homeless and vulnerable people operates from this centre at the back of Sheffield Cathedral.The Archer Project for Sheffield homeless and vulnerable people operates from this centre at the back of Sheffield Cathedral.
The Archer Project for Sheffield homeless and vulnerable people operates from this centre at the back of Sheffield Cathedral.

Additional local factors including a “lack of affordable housing”, a depleted social housing stock and the increasing cost of private rents were also added as Sheffield-specific factors influencing the rise in homelessness.

Mr Renshaw said: “Available rented accommodation tends to be expensive or of poor quality. Unfortunately, it means the city has had to use accommodation which it knows is unsuitable, such as B&B accommodation, for supporting people to move away from homelessness or avoid declining mental and physical health.”

During the 2023/24 financial year, Sheffield City Council provided TA for 724 residents experiencing homelessness. Up from 556 in 2022/23 and 430 in 2021/22.

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Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said the authority recognises they “still got a lot of work to do” to meet demand for council homes.Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said the authority recognises they “still got a lot of work to do” to meet demand for council homes.
Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the housing policy committee at Sheffield City Council, said the authority recognises they “still got a lot of work to do” to meet demand for council homes. | National World

Councillor Douglas Johnson, chair of the Housing Policy Committee, said: “Sadly, more families are experiencing homelessness in Sheffield and across the country. This has led to a big increase in the number of people in temporary accommodation.

“It’s bad for people and also for council finances so the Housing Policy Committee has treated it as a priority. The council recognises we’ve still got a lot of work to do in Sheffield to meet demand for council homes so that we don’t have to spend so much on housing people in temporary accommodation. We also want to focus as much as possible on helping people prevent homelessness wherever possible.”

In the October budget, Rachel Reeves announced an additional £230million for local authorities to assist with ending homelessness and rough sleeping.

The council said it was “cautiously positive” about the budget as it waited to see what impacts the government announcements would have.

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Coun Johnson added: “We have spoken earlier this year about our drive to build 1,000 council homes by 2029, and this has been continuing at pace. We expect announcements about developments in these projects in the coming weeks.

“It’s not just new homes needed either, so we will continue to work on our existing housing stock. As a council, we try and re-let our own properties as quickly as possible so they don’t stand empty, which can also reduce the amount that needs to be spent on temporary accommodation.

“Everyone needs a safe, warm, and affordable home and that’s absolutely what we’re trying to achieve. The unprecedented demand on social housing seen across the whole country continues, which is why we are also working alongside our partner local authorities in the Future of Council Housing coalition looking to engage the Government in meaningful investment in this sector to ease some of these pressures.”

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