Hundreds facing Christmas in temporary homes amid warnings of ‘growing crisis’

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

Hundreds of people, many of them children, are facing a Christmas spent in temporary accommodation.

The number of households in temporary accommodation in Caerphilly has risen from 320 at the end of March to 410 in November, figures show.

A councillor has warned new figures show a “worsening” trend in the county borough, where one person spent more than three years in supposedly temporary housing.

“Shocking”

Cllr Steve Skivens, of Plaid Cymru, said the figures are “shocking” – and his party has warned of a “growing temporary accommodation crisis”.

“Yes, it is far better than sofa surfing or rough sleeping, but for families and children living in a B&B it can have a great negative impact – particularly if they are moved out of the county and away from family, friends and support networks,” said Cllr Skivens.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, Cllr Shayne Cook, said a “national housing crisis” is “not unique to Caerphilly” and has “led to increased demand for housing support”.

Cllr Cook said housing is a priority for the local authority, which has made “significant progress” in building more homes.

Figures obtained by Plaid Cymru via a Freedom of Information Act request show Caerphilly Council will spend an estimated £7.7 million on temporary accommodation in this financial year.

That’s up from £5.9 million last year and £4 million in 2022/23.

The figures also show the amount of annual government grant funding the council received to support those efforts fell by around £600,000 over the same time period – something Cllr Skivens branded “hugely disappointing”.

B&Bs

The vast majority of households in temporary accommodation in Caerphilly stay in B&Bs, but others may be put up in hostels, women’s refuges or self-contained residences.

Nearly one in five of the 410 households in temporary accommodation, in November, include children.

The figures also show the longest a person has stayed in temporary accommodation in Caerphilly is 1,184 days.

Cllr Skivens said temporary accommodation “is supposed to be a short-term, interim measure” and claimed the “issue is clear – we haven’t got nearly enough suitable accommodation for our vulnerable families and individuals”.

He added: “While there is this huge demand, too many council properties are left empty for prolonged periods of time and the Labour-controlled council needs to get its act together and get people into homes much more speedily”.

Cllr Cook, in response to Cllr Skivens’ claims, said: “Housing is a key priority for us, and we are using a wide range of tools and approaches, within the public and private sector, to provide safe and secure homes for those who need them.

“I urge members across all political parties to unite and support our aim of building more affordable homes in locations right across the borough.’’

Crisis

The cabinet member accepted there was a “national housing crisis” and said increased demand has “resulted in us using establishments in a variety of locations in the borough to provide temporary emergency accommodation”.

“People can find themselves homeless for many reasons and the local authority has a statutory duty to accommodate them,” Cllr Cook added. “We face a significant task of securing permanent move-on options for single people due to the shortage of one bed/single person accommodation in the private and social housing sector.

“Despite significant progress made by the council in delivering its ambitious new build programme, homes cannot be built quickly enough to meet the ever-increasing demand for affordable housing.”

The council has warned previously that many of the people it supports with temporary accommodation are individuals, and “securing permanent move-on options for single people is a significant challenge”.

This is because of a “significant shortage of one-bed or single-person accommodation, and turnover is low”, the council said in a budget monitoring report in the autumn.

The council is “in the process of establishing and developing alternative models” but is “still required to provide interim housing and therefore is reliant on hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments”.

While work at a national level “should in theory eradicate the need for B&B placements” the council notes “this is a long-term strategy likely to take five to ten years”.