£45k-a-day on emergency digs as expenditure grows from zero to £16.6m in a decade

SDLP MLA Mark H. Durkan described the growing expenditure as ‘eye-searing’ after receiving fresh figures from the housing minister Gordon Lyons.

Figures show the spend on non-standard housing accommodation such as hotels and B&Bs rose from zero to £16.6m in the space of ten financial years. This equates to an average daily expenditure of £45,574.

“This spend is worse than eye-watering; at this stage it’s eye-searing! In the context of current budget pressures, such an exorbitant level of spend on what is essentially a quick fix, is unforgivable. I’ve warned about this situation since temporary housing costs exploded during the pandemic,” declared the Foyle MLA.

Mr. Durkan argued that the use of emergency temporary accommodation was not working.

“The figures don’t lie and despite more and more money being thrown at short stay placements like hotels and B&Bs, this approach is not working and in fact contributing to longer term homelessness. We have a 47,000 long, and growing, social housing waiting list,” he said.

The money, he argued, would be better spent on homelessness prevention initiatives.

He also called for support for private renters to help them sustain tenancies and ‘meaningful measures to bring some 22,000 empty homes back in to use’.

"People are paying the price not just for bad policy but for the Executive’s apathy towards homelessness,” said Mr. Durkan.