Decision details

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.

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.

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

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.