FOI request (FOIR-534415575)

Temporary or emergency accommodation for homeless households

Requested Wed 26 July 2023
Responded Fri 01 September 2023

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we request the following information:

1. How much money the council has paid to hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses for use as temporary or emergency accommodation for homeless households in the last four full financial years. (Note: if you are unable to provide data for 2022/23, please take the previous four full financial years, 2018/19 to 2021/22)

2. How many households the council has placed in hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, and guest houses in the last four full financial years. (Note: if you are unable to provide data for 2022/23, please take the previous four full financial years, 2018/19 to 2021/22)

3. How long each household spent in the hotel, hostel, bed and breakfast or guest house placed in by the council before being placed in a self-contained housing (for example, a flat or house) or before the council discharged their housing duty.

4. A list of the hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses the council has used to house households in the last four full financial years.

Response

Q1.

2019-2020 - £2,310,601

2020-2021 - £2,953,973

2021-2022 - £4,356,882

2022-2023 - £7,354,748

Q2. We do not place households in hostels.

Number of households placed in 'hotels, bed and breakfasts and guest houses' = 'Bed and breakfast hotels (privately managed, meal(s) provided, shared facilities)'

2019/2020 - 5

2020/2021 - 10

2021/2022 - 29

2022/2023 - 39

Q3. Please see attached spreadsheet.

Q4. Due to households' vulnerability, we do not provide information on where households are placed. Therefore this is being refused.

NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information in relation to a list of the hotels, hostels, bed and breakfasts, and guest houses the council has used to house households in the last four full financial years is exempt under Section 38(1)(b) of the FOIA 2000 - Health and Safety.

S38 allows public authorities to decline a request for information if it will endanger the safety of any individual. Under S38 we are not obliged to confirm or deny if we hold the information you have requested.

S38 is also subject to public interest test where public authorities have to consider if disclosing information is outweighed in cases where the health and safety of an individual or a group of individuals is put at risk.

We have identified the following public interest factors that may be seen as encouraging the disclosure of information:

a. Transparency and accountability

We consider these factors to be generally of limited or no relevance in relation to the information in question.

Public interest factors seen as encouraging non-disclosure are, generally, the exemptions themselves.

In consideration of this matter we came to the following conclusions:

a. The safety and vulnerability of any individual

b. Information, which if disclosed, could predictably be used to or would otherwise harm the safety of a vulnerable individual or a group of individuals.

c. The safety of these individuals is paramount

In weighing the factors for and against disclosure we have concluded that the likely benefit to the applicant and the wider public of disclosure is outweighed by the likely prejudice caused by such disclosure and that therefore the public interest is better served by non-disclosure.

Attachments

• FOIR-534415575_FOIR-534415575_1-FOIR-534415575_-_information_Q3.xlsx