Purpose

To seek approval to formally accept the
allocation of £190,500 Asylum Dispersal Grant from the Home
Office for 2023/24 and to allocate the funding to enable the home
Office Asylum Dispersal Grant to be spent.

Decision

That approval is granted to
formally accept the allocation of £190,500 Asylum Dispersal
Grant from the Home Office for 2023/24 and to allocate the funding
to enable the home Office Asylum Dispersal Grant to be spent.
 

Reasons for the decision

On 4 October 2023 the Home Office granted South
Kesteven District Council asylum burdens funding totalling
£190,500.

 

It has been agreed with the Home Office that this
funding can be utilised not only for the asylum dispersal costs but
also to assist the Council in its statutory homelessness
duties, in particular the provision of emergency temporary
accommodation.

 

Over the last 2 years there has been a significant increase in the
number of households who require temporary accommodation. This
together with a reduction in homelessness accommodation within our
own stock due to Health & Safety works required, has increased
external costs.

 

As of 24 January 2024, there are 18 households in B&B
accommodation and 9 households in nightly paid accommodation in the
district at an average cost of £70 per night.

 
There has also been an increase in complex
cases with high support needs, meaning that more single homeless
people are considered as priority and fall within the
Council’s statutory duties to accommodate them. With no other
available options, nightly paid accommodation is frequently
used

Alternative options considered

The Home Office has made funding available to Local Authorities to
be spent on expenditure incurred, or to be incurred by them in
delivering its statutory duties in supporting Asylum Seeker
Dispersal during the financial year 1 April 2023 to 31 March
2024.

 
To set out the reason behind the funding being
required to support in the ongoing provision of statutory
homelessness services.