New strategies and funding aim to address the ongoing challenges
Author: Richard Hunt, LDRSPublished 11 minutes ago
Blackpool continues to deal with a homelessness issue well over twice the average in England, a new report says.
Figures from Blackpool Council show applications from homeless people seeking help in 24/25 are at nearly 18 per 100,000 people, compared to seven per 100,000 for England as a whole.
And the figure is now five per cent higher than it was three years before.
Blackpool continues to draw in people from out-of-town due to its abundance of low cost rooms, as many small hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation have become Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs),
But because of the complex needs of many tenants, they sometimes lose their accommodation and present as homeless.
What the report says
A report for the council’s Tourism, Economy and Communities Scrutiny Committee said:”This data shows that Blackpool is still dealing with significantly more pressure than national averages.
“Nationally homeless presentations are starting to stabilise and decline.
“Presentations are still rising in Blackpool, but this is slowing. Homeless prevention performance dropped in 23/24 due to the significant built-up pressure in this system but has improved by 6% in the last year.
“This shows a deliberate and conscious shift back to prevention and away from crisis, but remains incredibly challenging to maintain with emergency presentation increasing.”
Main cause of homelessness
The end of a Private Rented Sector (PRS) tenancy is currently the leading cause of homelessness in England but in Blackpool that situation is doubled, with 58 percent citing this as the main reason in 2024/5 compared to the average in England of just 39 per cent.
On 31 March 31 2025, Blackpool had 100 in TA (temporary accommodation(, of which 40 were in B&B. This compares to 110 and 48 respectively at end of March 22/23 which is a slight decrease
Blackpool has managed to maintain relatively low rough sleeper numbers post Covid. Current outreach data shows approximately 9 people are likely to sleep rough on any one night, and there are usually around 16-20 different individuals found to be rough sleeping over the course of a month. Approximately 50% of rough sleepers seen across the month will be new to Blackpool
The annual rough sleeping headcount verified figure for 2025 is 11, which is consistent with regular outreach data.
Resort’s winter provision
Blackpool’s annual winter provision (SWEP) has also been put in place. This year there are 8 additional beds available within existing supported housing provision, which can be accessed flexibly throughout the winter.
The report adds: “We are also pleased to report that additional fixed provision is also in place this year which is managed by Helping Hearts charity, and supported by a wide range of partner agencies.
“There have been 2 SWEP triggers so far this winter and the new provision is working really well and ensures that entrenched rough sleepers have the opportunity to engage with meaningful support, and reliance on B&B has been significantly reduced for SWEP.”
National strategy to tackle crisis
A National Strategy has been set up in England and stat: “ The best way to end homelessness and rough sleeping is to prevent it before it happens.
“That is why we are focusing on building more homes that are affordable, raising living standards, supporting individuals through crises and reforming public services to put prevention at their heart.
“We are also giving councils greater freedoms and accountability to make changes locally. At the same time, this strategy recognises the scale of the current crisis and outlines immediate action to help councils address the most unacceptable forms of homelessness and rough sleeping: eliminating unlawful Bed and Breakfast (B&B) use for families, tackling poor-quality temporary accommodation more widely, and halving the number of people experiencing long-term rough sleeping.”
Blackpool has been awarded £2.86 million in government funding to support work across the partnership to prevent and reduce the harm associated with homelessness for the 2025/26 financial year.
Funding includes: £1.54m on Homelessness Prevention Grants to support services that prevent homelessness and provide relief to at-risk households; £443k for Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery to support people currently rough sleeping or at risk of doing so; and £877,466 towards Drug and Alcohol Treatment for Rough Sleepers to support recovery and stabilisation.