Rough sleepers helped with £700k funding pot and temporary homes
Rough sleepers and homeless families could be off the city's streets sooner thanks to a £700,000 boost.
Wolverhampton Council is set to spend the funding pot from the Government on tackling homelessness across the city and offer a “more flexible and responsive” service.
The £718,000 budget, which is expected to be given the green light by the Labour-led authority's cabinet next week, has been welcomed by Wolverhampton's opposition councillors.
Conservative Councillor Paul Appleby, who represents Bushbury North, said: “This significant funding from Government is great news for Wolverhampton, and will be a huge boost to tackling homelessness in the city.
“The Government’s Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 was the biggest change in homelessness legislation in England for 15 years. So this income of more than £700,000 will allow the council to remodel services in a way that meets increasingly diverse needs.
“I strongly welcome the financial support from Government, and I know that Wolverhampton residents will too.”
Wolverhampton has seen an increase of 22 per cent in the number of households in temporary accommodation - from 89 in 2017 to 109 in 2018.
It comes after the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 placed a statutory duty on local authorities to prevent or relieve homelessness within 56 days.
Cabinet members, who will meet on Wednesday, are also expected to approve the use of an additional 10 council homes for temporary accommodation for those in need.
They will also look to give the go-ahead to a review of homeless services delivered by Wolverhampton Homes.
A report to the committee read: "The acquisition and demand for temporary accommodation has been heightened with the increase in placements.
"Therefore, the final recommendation is for the approval of use of 10 additional council properties to be made available for usage as temporary accommodation for homeless households who are statutorily homeless.
"These 10 properties will be dispersed across the city and will offer both greater stability to vulnerable homeless families.
"Each of the 10 properties used will mean that households will not have to access bed and breakfast which currently costs the council a minimum of £50 a night where utilising of council stock costs an average of £15 a night which is supported by through housing benefit."
