This report explores the use of temporary accommodation across Wales, covering: • the scale of its use, the accommodation used and the pressure on local authority services; • the people who live in it and the practicalities of not having a long-term home; • the difficulties of moving on into permanent housing. [...] Key factors the local authority should consider include: • the existence of hazards in the establishment and the effect they may have on the health and safety of the potential occupants; • the appropriateness of the accommodation in terms of size; • any medical and/or physical needs; • any cultural, religious and social considerations; • the location of the accommodation and ease of access to scho. [...] While wider interventions are needed in the economy and housing market to address the growth in homelessness numbers as a whole, more can be done to address the acute shortage of affordable permanent accommodation and reduce the growing numbers living in temporary accommodation. [...] The time has come for deeper and more radical interventions to reduce need for temporary accommodation in the first place, to improve the quality and suitability of the temporary accommodation that is required, and to accelerate moving on into suitable, affordable long-term homes. [...] Over the course of three years we will be looking at how to increase the availability of move on accommodation for the record number of households in temporary accommodation, covering issues such as the supply of homes and making best use of available housing stock, allocations policies, the planning system and access to land.
Authors
- Pages
- 32
- Published in
- United Kingdom
Table of Contents
- Achieve your mission 2
- Enhance your reputation 2
- Build a network 2
- How you can help 2
- About the author 3
- Acknowledgements 3
- Executive Summary 5
- 1. Introduction 7
- 2. Setting the context 8
- 2.1 Homelessness in Wales 8
- 2.2 The use of temporary accommodation 9
- 2.3 Service pressures 13
- 2.4 Conclusion 15
- 3. Living in temporary accommodation 16
- 3.1 The households involved 16
- 3.2 The realities of living in limbo 18
- 3.3 Conclusion 25
- 4. Moving on 26
- 4.1 The flow of households through temporary accommodation 26
- 4.2 Finding a long-term home 27
- 4.3 The revolving door into temporary accommodation 28
- 4.4 Conclusion 29
- 5. Conclusions and next steps 30
- Annex 1 what we did 31
- References 32