By Cllr Mark Howell (Conservative), Cabinet Member for Housing at South Cambridgeshire District Council

I remember being asked by an executive officer: "What worries you the most about the housing department?" I said then, and will now; homelessness.

It could happen to any of us at any time. Before anyone says, "no not me, I own my home and have no mortgage, I am secure," I am writing this with local and national media reporting on the flooding across the country. Homelessness can suddenly affect us all.

The implications of homelessness are massive on everyone concerned, but the principal issue is one of uncertainty about what is going to happen next.

At South Cambridgeshire District Council, we decided to provide our own good quality temporary accommodation for vulnerable people. We use a number of initiatives to keep people in their homes as prevention is better than cure, but by purchasing 10 formerly empty homes in the district we've also increased our temporary accommodation.

Although much publicity has been given to the cost saving – a staggering 70 per cent fall in our bed and breakfast bill, from £8,000 per month to just £2,400 – what I am most pleased with is the stability we have brought to people when they most need support.

By providing good quality accommodation we are able to support people to work through the difficulties they are facing. We also offer help in a variety of different areas, including accessing the private rented sector and money advice.

Officers are now able to work effectively with people in supporting them to face the issues which have led to their current situation. In the past, we have first had to find where people were staying, especially if they were ‘sofa surfing'; or we might need to travel miles, sometimes out of district, to a B&B where a family had been placed overnight.

I still worry about homelessness, and always will. However, I am extremely proud of the work we have undertaken to keep people in their homes. Prevention, prevention, prevention is our motto.  But if people have to move into temporary accommodation, we know it will be good quality and give people the security they so desperately need.

This article was originally published on the Local Government Association website on 20 February 2014.

South Cambridgeshire District Council

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