A lively, informative and important discussion took place at Campbell Tickell-Devonshires first joint Temporary Accommodation conference on Monday 4 November 2024.
The conference showed a strong level of passion, commitment and will to improve the lives and wellbeing of those living in temporary accommodation across all partners involved, from housing providers, local authorities and lawyers, to property developers and investors.
Temporary accomodation conference summary
Speakers discussed some stark facts and key points:
- Temporary accomodation is a children’s welfare issue: 63% of households in TA have children. with 55 having tragically died in temporary accommodation since 2019 (Shared Health Foundation, 2024).
- £2.29 billion was spent on temporary accommodation between April 2023 – March 2024, an increase of 29% in the last year, and double the amount spend in the last five year (Shelter.com)
- Councils are struggling to place people into suitably supportive housing. Those with 3 or more support needs increased from 33,000 to 48,000 (April 2023 – March 2024). This equates to a 46% rise over four years who are owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty. (Centre for Homelessness Impact)
- Terminology matters to people and policy outcomes. There’s a need to make a distinction between “settled homes” and “temporary accommodation” – the former providing greater safety and security; the latter – anxiety.
- Specialist person-focused support works to help tackle homelessness. A Riverside project, delivered in partnership with Sefton Council, found that for every £1 invested in a housing led approach to supporting homeless families saved the council £3.36. We need to “spend to save”.
- Temporary accommodation is not “going away”. We need to make long-term commitments and strategies to manage it. This includes the need to:
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- Work in partnership and learn from best practice already happening in the sector, and scale this up;
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- Innovate! The Budget is not enough to meet the need – so how do we use our resources differently? e.g. accessing unused plots for local housing delivery; using modular methods of construction; and still lobbying the Government for long-term funding.
- Key challenges to realising the challenge ahead: capacity; data; engagement; funding and purchasing.
- Ultimately, the sector needs to work together – local authorities, investors, housing providers, lawyers, developers – to help address this issue to Government.
Next steps
There’s a clear appetite to do more. Look out for a more detailed brief of the conference soon, and a plan to take actions forward to influence Government spending this year.
Many thanks to all our speakers who gave up their time to take part, and to all attendees for your contributions and input.
Further resources
Read our recent blog on solutions to the temporary accomodation crisis.
To discuss any points raised in this article please contact Maggie Rafalowicz: Maggie.Rafalowicz@campbelltickell.com
Find out about our work with local authorities, housing providers, and health, care and support providers.
