Warnings of £5.6m temporary accommodation budget gap in Portsmouth
The city council is urging the government to act on a growing crisis
Portsmouth City Council is urging the government to address a growing crisis in temporary housing as the city faces a £5.6m budget gap in accommodating people affected by homelessness.
Councillors warn that without immediate assistance, the situation could become unsustainable, as hundreds of residents rely on temporary accommodation amid rising financial pressures.
A notice of motion submitted by the council’s administration will be discussed at a full council meeting on Tuesday, November 12.
It highlights a 54 per cent increase in households placed in temporary accommodation over the past year, with numbers now exceeding 500. The cost of this provision has also surged by 84 per cent, leaving the council with an unexpected £5.6m budget gap for 2024.
It welcomes the extra £233m for homelessness and rough sleeping from April next year but notes “that this will not deal with the current crisis and urges the Government to deal with the causes”.
Temporary accommodation in Portsmouth supports homeless individuals who have a local connection and meet qualifying criteria. These residents may have been evicted, seen private tenancies end, or be escaping domestic abuse.
Unlike asylum seeker accommodation, which is funded by the government, temporary accommodation costs fall on the council and can range from purpose-built housing to hotels and B&Bs. As supply in the city remains limited, the council is often forced to place people in housing that may not fully meet their needs.
Councillor Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing and tackling homelessness, said: “Everyone has the right to a safe and secure home, and council staff work tirelessly to achieve that for the people of Portsmouth. This is a national crisis, although we welcome the increase in government funding from next April, this does not help us now to deliver a long-term plan; we want the government to work with us to help plug the gap. We have already taken a range of measures to ensure people have a safe and secure home and it is our mission to ensure this continues.”
According to the Local Government Association, the number of households in temporary accommodation has risen by 89 per cent in the past decade nationally, with 104,000 households recorded by March 2023 – the highest since records began in 1998.
Councils across England are facing a combined cost of £1.75bn this year to support these households.