Warrington Council faces soaring costs to house the homeless, with hotel expenses projected to hit £2 million by 2025
Warrington: The council’s cabinet just gave the green light to a new homelessness strategy for 2025-2030. They met last Monday to discuss it.
In a budget report, they revealed some eye-opening figures about the costs of housing the homeless in hotels. It’s a bit shocking!
They mentioned that while they’re breaking even on paper, the hotel costs are expected to soar to £2 million, way above the £340,000 budget.
They’re managing to keep things balanced by dipping into reserves and grants, but that’s not a long-term solution.
Last year, they spent £375,000, and this year it jumped to £1.2 million. By 2024-25, they’re looking at a whopping £2 million!
The council explained that these hotel stays are for people who are homeless and waiting for social housing. It’s a tough situation.
They clarified that these hotels are different from those used for asylum seekers. The council is in charge of the ones for the homeless.
They’re hoping to reduce the need for hotels as more affordable homes become available. But that’s a waiting game.
For now, they’re committed to supporting those in urgent need until better options come along.
They’ve also set up a housing purchase fund to boost temporary housing stock and are teaming up with private partners to find better solutions.
With the UK facing a housing crisis, the council is doing its best to help those in need, even if it takes time.
The new strategy also talks about the pressures on homelessness and housing in Warrington.
Currently, there are two contingency hotels and 149 bed spaces for asylum seekers managed by a private contractor.
Asylum seekers in these hotels are waiting for decisions on their applications, and if they get approved, they have to find new housing quickly.
So far this year, 98 households have presented as homeless after leaving asylum accommodation. That’s a significant increase!
The council pointed out that the Home Office funds the contingency hotels, not them.
When asked about the future of these hotels, a council spokesman said they don’t have control over them. No new hotels are planned for now.
For the homeless, they mainly use two hotels, but that can change based on demand.
If an asylum seeker’s application is successful, they might move to a hotel for the homeless, but only if they meet the priority need criteria.
