Milton Keynes Council has celebrated reducing the number of households in Temporary Accommodation by over 100 at a time of growing homelessness pressure.
The number has dropped from 732 in April 2017 to 630 on Friday 2 February.
The number in B&B has dropped from 170 in September 2016 (76 in April 2017) to just one household now.
This reduction in the use of temporary accommodation has been achieved by:
- More effective and speedier management of applications.
- Swifter action to rehouse households.
- Securing more local accommodation. This speeds up re-housing.
Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Housing Cllr Nigel Long said, “Homelessness applications remain very high, but we have improved the speed with which we manage applications. We are making quicker decisions and housing people more quickly.”
Last week the Council provided 31 rough sleepers with temporary accommodation due to the very cold weather. Responding to street homeless is the second strand of action on tackling homelessness agreed by the Labour Cabinet.
Cllr Long added, “This is an area that requires more action and resources. I will be proposing an extra £400,000 in the Councils 2018/19 budget at Budget Cabinet (Tuesday 6 February). This is a group of very vulnerable people. We need effective support arrangements to help them come off the streets and in to suitable accommodation with support and back-up.”
Cllr Long concluded, “Whilst this is all good progress in both areas of homelessness, the fact is that having 630 households, including hundreds of children in temporary accommodation is not great. But the only long term solution is more genuinely affordable homes. For the 130 people sleeping rough we need to reach out more and find pathways back to secure living. We have a bit to celebrate, but a lot, lot more to do.”
