Council's two-year 150-bed hotel booking for homeless

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Sheffield City Council says the deal will help it save money and staff time

A city council has booked 150 beds in hotels every night for the next two years in an effort to manage a rise in homelessness.

Sheffield City Council has reserved the rooms at an agreed nightly rate - a move it says will save money, time and provide certainty for users.

The area has seen homelessness increase since the Covid-19 pandemic, with 173 households living in hotels by December 2022.

Councillor Penny Baker told a meeting she was " really sad to have to support this."

Image source, Sheffield City Council

The authority's housing committee meeting heard that as the number of beds needed increased, so did the number of hotels needed.

This logistical issue ate into council staff time, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

During the meeting, councillor Ben Curran said he recently supported a homeless family housed in multiple different temporary accommodations.

He said: "I saw the difficulties they were going through from going one place to another."

"When they finally got to their final destination the council was still questioning how long they would be there."

Ms Baker added: "People in these difficult positions are very vulnerable and taking away having to wait for a room to be allocated and [the uncertainty] is showing respect to those individuals."

Council officers said the authority aimed to end use of hotels for temporary accommodation within the next five years unless in emergencies.