New moves to help homeless and slash spending on B&Bs

In recent years the area has bucked national trends and figures show that the number becoming homeless across the district has actually fallen.

However the number of families seeking some form of help from Scarborough Borough Council is on the increase.

Two years ago the authority backed plans to invest more than £750,000 in repairing vacant properties along the coast to provide more temporary accommodation for homeless people. The aim was to stop the authority being so reliant on having to pay for expensive bed and breakfast accommodation for the homeless.

Today members of the council’s cabinet will be asked to earmark £130,000 to allow it to provide more temporary units.

Andrew Rowe, housing manager with the council says in a report to members “...the council needs to continue to look for ways to further reduce its costs and its reliance on B&B.”

Although homeless figures are falling in the district the report stresses the council needs to ensure it is not complacent and warns benefit reforms such as the introduction of the so-called bedroom tax, actually a cut in housing benefit for those with a spare room, could increase the demand for services.

Mr Rowe adds: “The impact of these measures locally remains uncertain however the likelihood remains that demand for services shall increase as a result.”

In April the Yorkshire Post revealed how homelessness is on the rise among Yorkshire’s middle classes as the unrelenting economic crisis creates an underbelly of rough sleeping in some of the region’s most affluent areas.

High property prices, booming rental markets and the stigma of housing benefit in areas such as Harrogate and York have led to a “real possibility” that residents who fall on hard times may end up on the streets, charities have warned.

Nationally figures also show that homelessness has been on the increase since 2010 - but along the North Yorkshire coast there has been a reduction in numbers.

In 2012/13, 124 households were deemed as being homeless and in priority need for assistance as compared to 142 households in 2011/12 and 147 households in 2009/10. Statistics also show that the number of households in temporary accommodation has increased nationally by 9 per cent over the last twelve months but over the same period the numbers have decreased by 15 per cent

“Whilst the year end position is positive and a reduction on the previous year it is important to note that throughout the year as a whole, numbers in temporary accommodation were at times much higher.

“During the summer period there were on average 70 households in temporary accommodation. This peak in numbers meant that the council’s net spending on temporary accommodation as a whole did not significantly decrease over the full year. Net spending on the provision of B&B throughout the year was £288,000 as compared to £294,000 on the previous year,” Mr Rowe says.

In Scarborough the number of households prevented from becoming homeless is increasing with families offered support to move into private rented accommodation or given help such as debt advice.

However the number of households seeking help on a range of homeless-related issues is increasing with 2,129 households seeking help over the last twelve months.

Council officers say there are a number of reasons why Scarborough is bucking national homeless trends. These include placing greater emphasis on trying to prevent the problem rather than just dealing with homelessness.

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