Council criticised for record on homelessness

A new report found homelessness in the city was rising

Salford Council is being criticised for not doing enough to tackle homelessness in the city.

Robin Garrido, leader of Salford Conservatives, said the Labour-led authority needed to take more responsibility on the issue.

His comments come after a new report found homelessness in Salford was rising - with 3,000 cases last year, up from 1,900 in 2021.

Salford’s Mayor Paul Dennett blamed the previous Conservative government for the increase in homelessness, claiming it was due to its accelerated asylum scheme.

'Key policy'

The city is also facing a housing shortage, with about 5,000 people on the council’s housing register, according to Salford’s deputy city mayor, Jack Youd.

Mr Dennett has also been critical of cuts to the council’s budget, claiming this was to the tune of £245m under the Conservatives.

The mayor is responsible for homelessness at a Greater Manchester level as part of his role as a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

But Mr Garrido has said the local council must do more – and repeated a call to use “empty” council offices as temporary accommodation.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “This council hasn’t done enough on homelessness, not at all.

“They have made some moves, but we were told by Andy Burnham when he was elected as [Greater Manchester] Mayor the first time that one of his key policies was to get rid of homelessness, and particularly street sleepers," he said.

“One of his top policies was to rid the county of that and he’s failed."

A Salford Labour Party spokesman defended the council’s record.

He said: “Salford and Greater Manchester have led the way in tackling homelessness in the country.

“Here in Salford, we have built hundreds of high-quality, sustainable homes for social rent and have worked with the private sector to deliver affordable housing, such as at the recently opened Greenhaus project.

“I look forward to working with the new Labour government to deliver more homes, to protect tenants’ rights and to make a genuine attempt to tackle the housing crisis.”

The Greater Manchester Mayor’s office was contacted for comment.