News / homelessness
Plans to provide more supported accommodation for families facing homelessness
Plans to expand the supported accommodation available in Bristol come amid fears the end of the temporary eviction ban will lead to a rise in homelessness.
The council intends to make additional properties available to house up to 100 families in need, enabling them to move on from emergency housing that fails to meet support needs.
The proposal going to cabinet on Tuesday is to extend the current provision for another four years and procure 100 more properties. The additional cost of £2.38m would come from reallocating the government Prevention Grant, which is currently being used to pay for emergency accommodation.
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This would fulfil a key commitment to “reduce the overall level of homelessness and rough sleeping, with no-one needing to spend a second night out”, state the council papers.
“Supported accommodation helps address the support needs of families whilst providing a safe and more secure home,” said Tom Renhard, Bristol City Council’s cabinet member for housing.
“This helps families increase their resilience and helps them to stay in their home.
“We are concerned that following the end of the temporary eviction ban, we will see an increase of families becoming homeless due to lack of protections currently available to people in the private rented sector. Most of these families will end up in emergency accommodation, in a situation that can have a profound impact on their wellbeing.
“We are committed to reducing our use of emergency accommodation wherever we can and, if this proposal is agreed by cabinet, we will be able to support more families to move on from homelessness and start to turn their lives around.”
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Read more: Fears homelessness could rise to ‘catastrophic levels’ in Bristol
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According to Bristol City Council records, 4,128 families sought support from its customer service point – which provides housing advice, assessment and information – between April 2018 and March 2021. Of these, 1839 were assessed as being eligible for assistance.
Yet emergency accommodation fails to meet support needs such as physical and mental health, budgeting, access to benefits and help to find appropriate employment, education and training.
It also costs more to put families up in emergency housing than supported, with the council papers stating the average cost for a family in emergency accommodation is £10,000, compared to an average cost of £3,000 in supporting housing. The principal reason for the difference is due to the housing benefit subsidy loss, as regulations do not allow for the full costs of emergency accommodation to be claimed from the government.
Main photo courtesy of Bristol City Council
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