Liverpool Council: Homeless hub opens at night in city

A new night shelter has been opened for rough sleepers in Liverpool

A homeless hub has opened at night in Liverpool to help rough sleepers get help as councillors also revealed a plan to work with private landlords.

During a debate Liverpool Council's ruling Labour group defended its handling of homelessness in the city.

Opposition councillors accused them of not doing enough to provide affordable temporary accommodation or stop people being evicted.

Local group Liberal Democrats leader Carl Cashman said it was "abysmal".

But Labour said it had a new plan to provide alternatives to expensive bed and breakfast accommodation, by working with private landlords.

At the council meeting, it revealed that a new night hub for rough sleepers opened this week.

Liberal Democrat group leader Carl Cashman says the situation in Liverpool is "abysmal"

The extraordinary meeting had been called by the Liberal Democrats group, with the party's leader Carl Cashman saying there was a "lack of imagination" when it came to solutions and criticised the council for not exploring funding streams for building its own housing.

Another Liberal Democrat councillor, Rob Macallister-Bell, became emotional as he shared his mother's experience of being homeless as a teenager and expressed concern that young people at risk of homelessness still faced the same challenges 50 years on.

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The new night shelter has opened near the city centre until the end of March, with a review to be conducted of how it can be continued long-term.

Liverpool has not had a night shelter since 2020.

Liverpool's Labour leader Liam Robinson said a night hub close to the city centre opened this week "after months of hard work".

He said: "It's somewhere warm, it's properly staffed and brings together all the appropriate services."

The council said the new hub would be a place for rough sleepers to get advice and sign post to other services, rather than a dormitory-style shelter like Labre House.

Councillor Sarah Doyle, cabinet member for housing, said "This is not a night shelter anyone can just walk into, it's a dedicated resource focused on helping to identify the needs of an individual and getting them into accommodation, where required, and other services as quickly as possible."

However she added: "This won't stop the problem of rough sleeping."

The council could enter into a multi-million pound contract with the private sector to ease its reliance on hotels for urgent temporary housing.

There are currently more than 500 households residing in bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation in Liverpool.

Of these, more than 400 have exceeded the six-week limit on staying there.

Council Leader Liam Robinson says all the appropriate services are available at the night shelter

The cost of housing people in Liverpool's bed and breakfasts and hotels will be around £19m by the end of this financial year.

Under proposals being discussed by a committee later, households would move into private rented properties for a short period while a more permanent setting is found.

The council aims to secure 400 temporary homes via a private property agent for a period of up to 5 years from 1 June for a total estimated value of £19m.