The housing crisis in Kirklees has seen the cost of temporary hotel accommodation – mainly for homeless people – more than double in two years to £7.2 million.

In 2022 the council paid £3.1 million for bed and breakfast hotels but that figure has since spiralled amid a growing national crisis.

A meeting of the council’s Growth and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel was told that there were 1,926 claims for homelessness in Kirklees last year. That could be from individuals, couples or families.

Kirklees has 22,000 council homes and another 6,000 run by housing associations – and there are around 18,500 people currently on the council house waiting list.

Last year only around 1,800 properties became available, well short of the 1,926 applications from people claiming homelessness, showing the scale of tackling the problem.

The meeting was also told that some people could remain in hotels for up to two years, a huge drain on the public purse.

The figures were revealed in a report on the council’s new homelessness and rough sleeping strategy for 2024-2029.

The report says: “Local authorities have a duty to accommodate homeless families or individuals who are assessed as meeting a ‘priority need’ criteria until they are able to secure long-term housing.

“These households are initially offered temporary accommodation which is intended to be a short-term option for people when there is no other accommodation available to them.”

 

 

Speaking at the meeting at Huddersfield Town Hall, deputy council leader Clr Moses Crook, also Cabinet member for housing, said: “The national housing crisis – this is by no means unique to Kirklees – imposes significant direct and indirect pressures on council finances.

“Last year temporary accommodation spend on hotel provision was £7.2 million up from £3.1 million in 2022 so a huge increase.

“The indirect cost is enormous. Better health and education outcomes, which are supported by better housing, stable and more available housing, allows people to contribute.”

Clr Alison Munroe (Lib Dem, Almondbury) suggested that more innovative ways of funding new council housing were needed.

“Has the council considered Crowdfunding? she asked. “I know there are authorities in the South who have set up partnerships for Crowdfunding.

“Rather than putting money in a hat of someone who is begging on the street maybe some would prefer to put money in the kitty so these people have decent accommodation or housing. Just something to consider but I don’t know if it would be successful.”

Clr Crook (Holme Valley South) replied: “I think the pressures on affordable housing and the social rented sector are well documented nationally.

“They formed a part of the national picture around the General Election and I am hopeful the Government will rise to the challenge of the lack of affordable housing and make meaningful change that will result in lower waiting numbers for housing.

“It is for national government to make that policy change but I take on board your point about being a little bit inventive about how we raise money for particular projects and there may well be a productive place for that.

“It’s going to be around small numbers of housing if we do manage to do things on a local level.

“In terms of 18,400 people on our waiting list and the 1,926 presentations for homelessness we have had this year I think we need a much more meaningful change and that has to come from Government.

“Since I became portfolio holder for housing it’s been a priority for me to ensure Kirklees is ready to be receptive of policy change.

“I think the writing was on the wall about there being a change of government and very much at the forefront of the new Deputy Prime Minister’s policy portfolio was a building of council housing and I do want that to happen here if humanly possible. We are working on that.”

 

 

The meeting was also told there were officially 14 rough sleepers in Kirklees. The Government requires councils to count on a particular night and 14 were recorded last November.

Sarah Holmes, the council’s strategic manager for homelessness, said the number of rough sleepers would go up and down and the council kept a regular check.

The reasons for rough sleeping were complex and it wasn’t necessarily the case that rough sleepers didn’t have a home, she said.

The council has a designated ‘rough sleeping team’ and rough sleepers could be reported direct to the council or via a website called StreetLink. Once reported, council officers would go out to find them and offer help and support.

 

Sir Patrick Stewart OBE, Simon Armitage CBE and Joan Gorton receive Freedom of Kirklees