New funding made available for temporary accommodation support

At its meeting on Tuesday, Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet backed the investment in the delivery of new temporary accommodation and acknowledged the need for more wrap-around support for people placed in temporary accommodation.

Cabinet recommended that Full Council increase the budget for the capital programme for new temporary accommodation in the district by £979,000 from £1,178,000 to £2,157,000, at its meeting next week.

The District Council currently spends around £80,000 every year on emergency accommodation to support local residents, including families with children and Cabinet recognised more needs to be done.

At any one time there are more than 30 individuals and families from the district living in temporary accommodation.

Insufficient supply of accommodation means people in need are often placed in emergency bed and breakfast, located outside of the district and offering limited facilities.

Funding for the proposal, which includes more ‘Housing First’ housing pathway units to support local rough sleepers will come from money negotiated from housebuilders and from Right to Buy receipts, money generated through the Right to Buy sale of the council’s former housing stock, now managed by Bromford.

The Leader of Lichfield District Council, Councillor Doug Pullen said: “It’s absolutely right that we are using money from developers to make a significant investment in providing suitable accommodation for any Lichfield District resident who is facing homelessness.”