Reduce spending on hotel and B&B emergency digs, says NIAO

Comptroller and Auditor General, Dorinnia Carville, has pointed out how 4,700 households were in temporary accommodation in the North in 2023-24 compared to 1,700 households a night in 2017 (a 176 per cent increase).

Dealing with the unprecedented demand for temporary accommodation, she observes, cost the Housing Executive almost £39 million in 2023-24.

The cost of providing temporary accommodation represented over half of all Housing Executive’s spending on homelessness services in 2023-24, Ms. Carville notes.

And whilst the majority of this was on self-contained, single let accommodation, the Housing Executive spent over £12 million on hotels and B&Bs last year, compared with around £7.5 million in 2022-23 and £0.9 million in 2018-19.

‘Homelessness in NI’, which was published this morning, notes that this expenditure is disproportionate to the number of households placed in such accommodation.

While only around 10 per cent of households are placed in hotels and B&Bs, they account for over 30 per cent of annual spend on temporary accommodation.

The ‘Journal’ has previously reported how spending on emergency temporary accommodation in Derry and Strabane has outstripped that of other areas including Belfast: £6.5m was spent on hotel and B&B type housing placements locally in 2023/24.

Commenting on the report’s findings, Ms. Carville, said: “There is currently an unprecedented demand for homelessness services, in particular temporary accommodation, which has been impacted by an inadequate supply of social housing, the impact of COVID-19 and the cost-of-living crisis.

"Homelessness has impacts across society, with long term consequences for health and education outcomes, and the costs to the public purse are significant and rising.

"Dealing with these issues is complex and my report acknowledges the efforts being made by the Housing Executive and those working in the sector under challenging circumstances.

"However, in order to ensure the best use of public money, there is a need to reduce spending on hotels and B&Bs, and for an increased focus on homelessness prevention and the supply of new social housing.

"Until these key issues are resolved, demand for homelessness services is likely to continue to escalate to a point where it may become financially unsustainable.”