Council puts homelessness cuts on hold

Newcastle City Council has put its plans to cut support for homeless people on hold

A council has paused plans to halve spending on beds and support for homeless people.

The cuts were removed from final budget proposals published ahead of Newcastle City Council's next cabinet meeting, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

It said it wanted to “invest in a longer-term vision" to tackle the causes of homelessness, and work with providers to reduce a “reliance on temporary accommodation”.

Labour councillor Paul Frew, the council’s cabinet member for finance, added the provision would still be reviewed.

'Sigh of relief'

The Labour-led authority had proposed cutting its spending on homelessness prevention contracts from £3.3m to £1.6m from October.

It sparked an outcry from charities and housing providers, who warned it could leave more people to die on Newcastle’s streets.

Staff at Changing Lives, one of the main providers of temporary accommodation for homeless people in the city, welcomed the decision to pause the cuts.

Neil Baird, the charity’s operations director, said: “We have worked very closely with the council over the last 50 years to support those worst off in our society and we look forward to continuing to do so in 2024 and beyond. "

Herbie Cooper, from Crisis, added that people facing life on Newcastle’s streets would be “breathing a sigh of relief that these devastating proposals have been paused”.

Homelessness charity Shelter said that an estimated 71 homeless people in Newcastle had died between 2017 and 2021.

Tracy Guy, strategic lead at Shelter’s North East hub, said it was pleased the council had "listened to the concerns raised".

'Real opportunity'

The council said it would “carry out a review of the provision to seek best value for the council”, but has not committed to making a specific financial saving.

Mr Frew said there had been "some fantastic partnership work" in recent years to tackle homelessness.

“But we were aware that much of the money being spent in this area was being spent to tackle the symptom of a wider problem, rather than the root cause," he added.

"We still want to review our homelessness provision in the city and believe the transfer of Your Homes Newcastle presents a real opportunity for the authority.

“The move will ensure the authority has control of its housing stock and can integrate housing provision alongside other frontline service."