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They are known as the ‘hidden homeless’. But the people living in often squalid temporary accommodation do not know themselves as such. They call themselves families.
And it’s those families - like Kim and her two young children who share a rat-infested bed and breakfast with an alcoholic - that deal with these unsuitable makeshift homes each day. And though it’s far from ideal, it’s expensive.
Manchester Council has now revealed that it costs an average of £924 a week to house a homeless family in a B&B in the city. It’s a revelation that prompted one councillor to suggest they could find accommodation cheaper on booking.com.
But that’s beside the point. Hotel and B&Bs accommodation is a last resort for local authorities who can house families there temporarily and only in 'exceptional circumstances' for no more than six weeks. But each month, more and more are staying for longer than the 42 days allowed.
Council bosses now say that by the end of June, they want to make sure no families are placed in B&Bs for longer than six weeks. They want no more than ten families placed in this type of accommodation by the end of the year.
It’s an ambitious plan, given that more than 100 families are being booked into B&Bs every month across the city.
Instead, town hall chiefs want to lease self-contained private units that they claim will save the authority £34m over five years.
Local democracy reporter Joseph Timan was at a scrutiny meeting this week and heard councillors discuss the plans at length.
As he reports, Labour councillor Julie Reid was shocked by the 'huge amount' spent by the local authority on this unsuitable type of temporary accommodation and said: "On economies of scale, surely we could buy something better?
"For example, some of our hotels are now working in partnership with us. Surely they can offer us a better deal than that.
"I'm sure if I went on booking.com I could get it cheaper. Why are we paying this amount of money?"
But assistant director of homelessness Rob McCartney said agreements with hotels are unsuitable because ‘it's unlawful to place families in bed and breakfast’.
"But the alternative is, as we've set out, the leasing arrangement where we estimate, currently, if we were to place 200 families in these self-contained units rather than bed and breakfast, we would be saving £7m per year and we would be providing a decent level of accommodation to families as well."
The council is also looking at allowing people to live temporarily with friends and family without losing their place on a housing list, as well as one-off financial assistance for those at risk of being evicted.
It’s been four years since a Manchester Evening News investigation revealed the extent of squalid living conditions faced by the city's 'hidden homeless'. But just last month Sophie Halle-Richards found that families are still being housed under the same roof as alcoholics, sex offenders and infestations of rats.
More money for the police - but we're paying
Greater Manchester taxpayers will be asked for at least £10 more a year to help fund the police. However mayor Andy Burnham says Greater Manchester Police will still need to cut costs.
It would mean the total police precept for Band A properties would rise to £162.20 next year.
As Joseph Timan reports, the maximum increase of £15 for Band D properties has been proposed, starting from April.
This works out as £10 more for Band A households, which accounts for the largest portion of properties in Greater Manchester. Everyone in the city-region would see this part of the council tax bill rise by 6.57 per cent, if approved.
“It’s not something I want to do but it is the only way we can afford the quality of police service we need to keep us safe,” the mayor said.
The money will be used to set up dedicated Neighbourhood Crime Teams in each district to proactively tackle and investigate burglary, robbery and vehicle crime, respond to 101 and 999 calls faster and investigate crimes quicker.
The mayor says GMP will still need to make savings next year because the government is not giving the force enough money to cover the impact of inflation.
Officers planning to quit amid 'morale crisis'
A morale crisis is currently hitting staff at Greater Manchester Police, according to a new survey.
Nearly two in ten GMP officers said they plan to quit as soon as possible when quizzed by the The Police Federation of England and Wales’s Pay and Morale Survey.
Around 22 per cent of the work force responded and 97 per cent reported their cost of living had increased in the last month.
Nearly 90 per cent said they felt they were 'worse off' financially than they were five years ago and 86 per cent said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their overall pay and allowances.
The survey found that 18 per cent of GMP officers said they intended to leave the force as soon as they could and/or within the next two years.
Greater Manchester Police Federation chair, Lee Broadbent, said the findings reflect the Government’s failure to properly invest in policing and provide ‘fair pay deals and safe working conditions’.
"The lack of long-term funding settlements means forces cannot effectively budget to future proof our service,” he told reporter Sophie Halle-Richards.
"Retaining highly skilled and experienced police officers is going to be a real challenge in the next few years," he added.
Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods wrote to officers and said senior leaders have listened to the findings and morale, health and wellbeing is of ‘the highest importance’.
“There is so much talent in GMP and we do not want good police officers and staff to leave,” he wrote. "Our journey to improvement seeks to make GMP a more attractive place to work, where your welfare is front and centre and where demand and capacity is well managed."
The Nightingale principle
The mayor has suggested using the ‘Nightingale principle’ to help our ‘overwhelmed’ NHS.
Andy Burnham ruled out reopening the temporary Nightingale hospital at GMEX when asked about it by a BBC Radio Manchester caller this morning, saying the NHS could not afford it permanently.
The Labour mayor said the 'worrying situation' in the NHS is turning into a 'crisis', but he does not believe it is being treated with the same level of urgency as Covid. He said lessons should be learned from the pandemic to help the NHS now.
"The pressure on the NHS is actually landing now,” he said. “Everyone thought we were going to be overwhelmed with Covid and we wouldn't be able to cope, hence we'll stand up these facilities and the truth is it got close at times, but it never actually got to the point where they were being overwhelmed.
"But they are being overwhelmed now and I think the learning from the Nightingale should be, can you find ways of standing up extra beds quickly in locations that could house them? Is there a way of applying the Nightingale principle now in a slightly different way to the way it was done during the pandemic?"
Seven temporary hospitals - known as Nightingales - were set up across England to create extra critical care capacity during the pandemic including one at Manchester Central Convention Complex. The 750-bed facility at the GMEX closed in early 2021.
A side helping of mayhem
If event theatre is your idea of a nightmare, look away now.
But those of you who love a dose of live comedy with your dinner might enjoy this.
An 'immersive' Faulty Towers The Dining Experience is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new Manchester residency at Hotel Brooklyn.
Manuel, Basil and Sybil will all be attendance with the experience starting from the moment guests take their seats at the city centre venue, as Jenna Campbell reports.
Actors will hurtle through a two-hour 'tour de force' of shambolic service as the key players serve a ‘70s-style three-course meal together with a side helping of mayhem for good measure’.
Weather etc
- Friday: Cloudy changing to light showers by lunchtime. 8C.
- Road closures: M56 Eastbound exit slip road to the A34 closed due to roadworks at A34 Kingsway until 7am on February 5.
- Trains: Salford Central will be closed until summer 2023 for vital platform and canopy works.
- Trivia question: Which former Manchester Grammar School student won an Oscar for his portrayal of Gandhi?
Manchester headlines
Joke: The A555 Airport Relief Road - dubbed a magic road for slashing journey times when it first opened in 2018 - has been flooded again. The £290m road was closed on Thursday morning between Styal Road and Bramhall Oil Refinery. One local described the road as ‘a joke’. “It happens every single time it rains," they said.
Patrols: Police have warned those carrying knives on public transport: "We will catch you". Greater Manchester’s TravelSafe Partnership is stepping up enforcement to reassure the travelling public following a number of knife-related incidents on public transport in recent weeks. Officers are thought to be stopping around 300 people a month on public transport in the region, with 25 per cent of those searched found carrying knives or drugs. Chief Superintendent Mark Dexter said: “You may be using knives and carrying them on the transport network and eventually, we will catch you - and it might be sooner rather than later.”
MI5: Fancy a career change? You’re in luck. MI5 and MI6 are looking to fill a range of job roles, including some in Manchester. Vacancies are across various departments including software engineering, media and psychology. More here.
Voter ID: A massive communication campaign is set to be launched across Greater Manchester to raise awareness of controversial new legislation requiring voters to show identification at polling stations in order to cast their ballots. Councillor Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester city council, said millions of people across the country don't currently have the appropriate forms of ID - and claimed 'making it more difficult' for them to vote as a result was 'in many ways a democratic scandal'. The legislation will be in force by this May's local elections.
Worth a read
“Vast private and municipal building projects have painted in a new exciting skyline and the massive hotel and office blocks rising on, seemingly, every corner have given Manchester an appearance more in-keeping with the modern, forward thinking city that it is.”
This line could have easily been written about the Manchester of today, but it was actually penned by town hall chiefs in the 1960s.
Reporter Damon Wilkinson has been looking through a 1960s guidebook to the city - produced by the town hall's publicity and information office - which recommends the Halle Orchestra, a booming mod scene in the coffee shops off Market Street and a 'number and variety of foreign restaurants serving their own national exotic dishes - particularly Chinese and Indian'.
Take a look at the fascinating piece here.
That's all for today
Thanks for joining me. If you have stories you would like us to look into, email beth.abbit@menmedia.co.uk.
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The answer to today's trivia question is: Sir Ben Kingsley.
