A SHARP rise in the number of homeless people in Flintshire has led to an increased use of bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation.

New figures show that the amount of referrals Flintshire Council received from households who said they were homeless or at risk of homelessness went up by almost 40 per cent during the last year to 1,715.

However, it said that a shortage in accommodation has led to more people being housed in B&Bs, despite warnings from a homeless charity that it can leave them feeling ‘isolated and stressed’.

The authority’s chief officer for housing and assets, Neal Cockerton, said the problem has been made worse because of major changes made to the benefits system by the UK government.

In a report set to go before the council’s cabinet on Tuesday, he said: “The council is committed to preventing rough sleeping but recognises the need to seek alternative options to the use of B&B and hotel places that are costly and at certain times are scarcely available.

“The council has a good supply of supported temporary accommodation for families and occasionally has to use private hotels in urgent cases or when spaces are not available.

“The shortage of accommodation for single people is a huge challenge in relieving homelessness in the first instance and moving people on from interim accommodation. This has been exacerbated by various welfare reforms, which have been introduced since 2013.

“Frequently, such accommodation is not appropriate, especially for those with access to children to have overnight stays. Over the past two years some of these placements became quite extended stays due to the lack of suitable and affordable move on options from interim accommodation.

“Even if the number of households presenting to the council at risk of homelessness remains steady over the next few years, there is already evidence that the availability of alternative accommodation for these households, to prevent their homelessness, is reducing and predicted to reduce further. This will lead to the increased usage of B&B as temporary accommodation for homeless households.”

The report also reveals that the number of people on the social housing register in Flintshire has increased from 960 in April 2016 to 1,649 in April this year, leading to longer waiting times.

It shows that the average wait for one, two and three bedroom properties recently stood at up to 18 months.

Shelter Cymru said that most B&Bs usually come with no cooking facilities, leading people to rely on takeaway food, and don’t give guests a legal right to stay.

In order to try and tackle the rise in homelessness, the council said it is looking to introduce more preventative measures, including offering incentives for landlords to provide more affordable rented housing and increasing the availability of properties to buy through its North East Wales (NEW) Homes scheme.

Mr Cockerton said: “The cabinet report in September 2017 committed to reducing the use of B&B accommodation as a priority.

“Implementing changes in services does take time and the use of B&B

accommodation in 2017/18 increased significantly from the level in 2016/17.

“However, the council has started to see numbers reduce and in the first

week of June 2018 there were no families in B&B and 11 single households

accommodated.

“Continuing to develop initiatives to increase the availability of suitable and sustainable properties across sectors remains a priority to maintain this success.”