The NI Audit Office Report
On Tuesday 25 March, the NI Audit Office published its “Homelessness in Northern Ireland” report. Commenting on the content of the report, Nicola McCrudden, Chief Executive of Homeless Connect, the representative body for the homelessness sector, said:
“The findings of this detailed and helpful report come as no surprise to those working in homelessness services. The report notes that the number of households with homelessness status has increased by 80% since 2016/17, with people facing longer and longer waits on the social housing waiting list before being allocated a home.
The fact that the spend on temporary accommodation provision has increased by 408% between 2018/9 and 2023/4 to stand at £38.6 million is a sign of a system under severe strain. The increase of over 2,000% in B&B and hotel accommodation placements between April 2017 and April 2024- with the major increase in cost that leads to- reflects the level of need which is out there.
Time to rebalance to homelessness prevention
The NIAO report adds to the body of evidence highlighting that it is time to rebalance our spending away from reactive spending on non-standard emergency type accommodation provision, towards proactive spending to prevent homelessness in the first place. This is the right road to take and the homelessness sector wants to play its part in making this happen.
B&B and hotels should only be used as a last resort and where possible people experiencing homelessness should be placed appropriately in temporary accommodation best suited to their needs. The reduction in B&B and hotel usage must be a top priority and we will support measures which sustainably make this possible. Every pound spent on non-standard accommodation is a pound which could be spent on initiatives to prevent people from entering homelessness and providing good quality support services to enable people to move on.
It is widely acknowledged that the homelessness sector here has been underfunded in recent decades. There is a real need for funding to be invested in the sector so it can help to prevent and reduce homelessness. Funding needs to be on a long-term, consistent basis. You cannot effectively respond to a complex, multi-faceted issue like homelessness on short-term budget timescales. We need a multi-year budget rebalanced towards homelessness prevention.”
The Road Ahead
Ms McCrudden continued:
“Behind the detailed figures and charts provided in the report are real people facing the terrible impact of housing insecurity and homelessness. The reality of the facts on the ground set out in this report should shock us and we hope the NI Executive will respond constructively and collaboratively to the report’s recommendations.
Homeless Connect and our member organisations will continue to work with our statutory partners to see this society take the journey we need to take if we are going to prevent and reduce homelessness going forward.”
