Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to reduce the cost of temporary accommodation for local authorities through the Spending Review.

At phase 1 of the Spending Review the Government announced a £233 million increase for homelessness services, taking total spend to nearly £1 billion in 2025/26. This includes the largest-ever investment in prevention services, enabling councils to intervene earlier with targeted support, preventing homelessness before it happens and reducing reliance on expensive, ill-equipped temporary accommodation.

As part of this investment, the Government is working with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots. The £8 million programme will test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives to reduce the reliance upon the most expensive and least suitable forms of temporary accommodation.

Future funding for homelessness services is subject to the outcome of phase 2 of the Spending Review.