Sheffield Homelessness At All-Time High

[SheffieldForum]

The number of people registered as homeless with Sheffield Council has reached an all-time high, the authority has said.

 

More than 4,000 people or families notified the council they were without a home in 2022-23, the latest figure available, according to a council report.

 

Meanwhile, the number of homeless people living in the city's B&Bs and hotels was at an “unsustainable and unaffordable level”, with "urgent action" needed, it added.

 

The government said in a statement that it had given councils a total of £1.2bn to help people move out of temporary accommodation.

 

The Sheffield Council report said that in the 2022-23 financial year, there was an increase of 500 applications from people or families seeking to be officially registered as homeless compared to the previous year.

 

That was the highest ever figure recorded by the authority, the report stated.

 

"Urgent action must be taken. Ultimately, we need to stop using hotels and B&Bs as temporary accommodation for a variety of reasons, not just because of the financial cost", it said.

 

More at the BBC News article here.

[GabrielC]

Why the shock? Rents and mortgages are going though the roof the cost of living is spiralling out of control. 

 

Not everyone on the streets or living in BBs are drug addicts or have drink problems many are there because ever thing has got so expensive and forced out of their homes .

 

The Tories have cut funding to councils hence the huge hikes in council tax leaving less money to repair housing stock  or build much needed social housing. Welcome to Dickensian Britain.

 

 

[redruby]

I know there’s no easy answer to this but I don’t think it’s too controversial to say it just isn’t sustainable - from a purely logistical point of view - to have continued high immigration to this country.  I know the issues with asylum, with recruitment to certain jobs, etc etc but it simply isn’t sustainable to continue in the way we are now.  There are only so many houses that can be built, so many more roads, so many more cars and so much population increase before wreaking absolute environmental destruction.  
I my own lifetime I’ve the homeless population increase exponentially.  It’s fine to say ‘build more houses’ but resources and space are finite.  We could build thousands and thousands of new houses but still if the population keeps growing at this rate it won’t be enough.  I don’t have any issues with immigration per se.  I just believe the levels we have now and into the foreseeable future are completely unsustainable.

[GabrielC]

2 minutes ago, redruby said:

I know there’s no easy answer to this but I don’t think it’s too controversial to say it just isn’t sustainable - from a purely logistical point of view - to have continued high immigration to this country.  I know the issues with asylum, with recruitment to certain jobs, etc etc but it simply isn’t sustainable to continue in the way we are now.  There are only so many houses that can be built, so many more roads, so many more cars and so much population increase before wreaking absolute environmental destruction.  
I my own lifetime I’ve the homeless population increase exponentially.  It’s fine to say ‘build more houses’ but resources and space are finite.  We could build thousands and thousands of new houses but still if the population keeps growing at this rate it won’t be enough.  I don’t have any issues with immigration per se.  I just believe the levels we have now and into the foreseeable future are completely unsustainable.

I get your point but not all homeless are so called ' Boat People' many are are own people who should be helped first not treated as a after thought.

[cuttsie]

1 minute ago, GabrielC said:

I get your point but not all homeless are so called ' Boat People' many are are own people who should be helped first not treated as a after thought.

Our kids and grand kids should get the first priority in obtaining a council property . Sadly it is not the case ,  Certain sections are considered priority so the long time citizens of this City who's family's have worked it's factory floors through generations are put to the back of the line . It stiinks.

[cressida]

It's because those on the waiting are assumed to be housed already with family or renting and the council have nowhere to put the immigrants,

some could be dangerous if left on the streets,  some have children - in principle our citizens should come first but no doubt the phrase 

'It doesn't work like that' will be used.

 

The international law which forces countries to accept unlimited immigration should be challenged.

[GabrielC]

18 minutes ago, cuttsie said:

Our kids and grand kids should get the first priority in obtaining a council property . Sadly it is not the case ,  Certain sections are considered priority so the long time citizens of this City who's family's have worked it's factory floors through generations are put to the back of the line . It stiinks.

The demand for social housing has never been greater than now. There are parts of Sheffield that could be redeveloped like for example like  Attercliffe yes I know about the proposed plans for the area but how realistic are they? How many of the planned apartments will be set aside for social housing my guess is none. Attercliffe is a blank canvas with good transport links with potential to boost business and employment if done right. I get that the city centre needs commercial development but not everyone wants to live in the city centre or could afford to. 

[Irene Swaine]

We need to close our borders immediately and turn back every single boat on the same day. We need to stop foreign aid and look after our own. This is controversial but perhaps price caps should be put in place on houses and rent rates. Ofcourse British Gas et al are ripping people off left right and centre in the disguise of the fake war, and a lack of wind, despite last night's storm. 

 

That said, a survey conducted by South Yorkshire Police found that out of 50 so-called homeless people, only 8 were genuinely homeless. Charities such as The Salvation Army provide shelter and The Arches Project provide food. 

 

As a short term solution, if it were up to me, I'd get one of the disused steel yards, provide a load of tents and let the genuinely homeless people sleep there. Better than being unsheltered on the streets. 

 

As for the people who beg on the streets, they are ruining the city and making it an anti-social place. The city centre ambassadors need to crack down on this kind of behaviour. The RSPCA also need to ne rounding up all of the dogs that sit on the cold pavement with them, day in, day out too. If a normal person put a dog out on to the street im freezing weather, they'd be charged with animal cruelty but if you claim to be homeless, it seems to get a free pass.

[butlers]

Suits land owners ,builders and investment companies to keep housing in short supply to keep prices high.

Under building has been a story for two decades ,its not a new story.

 

[AndrewC]

Astonishing that so many of you run to the 'too many immigrants' line. Or is it? I suppose it's a result of being told it's their fault for the last two decades by the media. You've been brainwashed; doing exactly what the Government (who have failed us in a myriad of ways) want you to do, so that you don't blame them instead.

 

Chronic underfunding of local authorities and healthcare organisations, a culture of limited house building which is driving up housing demand and prices/rents, and an overreliance on overseas, unsustainable energy sources driving up energy bills are probably all the primary reason for this.

 

But, 'stop the boats!'