'Homelessness surge' blamed as Worthing Borough Council forecast to be £2.1m over budget this year

The council said more than 30 per cent of Worthing’s entire budget for this year is forecast to have to be spent on accommodation for members of the local community who would otherwise be homeless.

“Worthing Borough Council now expects to spend around £5.36m of its £17.8m budget this year on temporary and emergency accommodation for Worthing families, couples and individuals because of the continuing housing crisis in the borough,” a council statement read.

"This is despite the council having saved money by building its own temporary accommodation and securing long-term deals with landlords for properties to prevent residents having to be put up in more costly and less suitable hotels and B&Bs.

"Its housing teams have also worked hard to reduce homelessness, by helping members of the community to resolve issues so that they can stay where they are living or move into somewhere else suitable.”

Reports detailing the council’s current financial challenge and its work to set a budget for next year will be discussed by Adur & Worthing Councils’ joint strategic committee this week.

The spokesperson added: “They will set out how as a council for the community, Worthing has changed the way it works over recent years to ensure it can continue to provide the services the community needs.

"However the sustained homelessness pressures the council is facing means Worthing is currently forecast to be £2.115m over budget this year.

"In the first six months of this financial year alone, 335 local households came to the council seeking advice about homelessness because they were at risk of having nowhere to stay.”

The council said this is an increase on the 329 households who sought help about homelessness in the same period last year. This itself was a 26 per cent increase on the 261 who needed help in the first six months of 2023/24.

"In addition, other agencies are continuing to place vulnerable people with specific needs in the area, due to the comparatively lower property prices and the availability of large, suitable buildings in Worthing,” the council statement read.

"Each of these vulnerable people needs support to be able to live independently but because government funding does not cover the full cost of this, the council is left to meet the shortfall.

"This surge in local people needing support means the council has felt forced to approach the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to request further exceptional financial support to balance its books this year.

"It has also advised MHCLG that unless Worthing benefits from a significant increase in financial support as part of the government’s fair funding review this year, it expects to need additional support in 2026/27 as well.”

At the start of this financial year, Worthing had the second highest number of households in temporary accommodation in the county, the council said.

Because of ‘historic calculations’, it received an average of just £1,175 from the government per homeless household to support them. In comparison, the average across West Sussex was £4,917 per homeless household, the council highlighted in the statement.

The joint strategic committee meeting will be held at The Shoreham Centre from 6.30pm on Tuesday, December 9 and is open to the public. Residents are ‘encouraged to come along, ask questions and share their thoughts’.

To read the report for the meeting visit https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=159&MId=2211.