FI16838

Request

I am requesting aggregated information relating to health and safety standards and local authority oversight in temporary accommodation used to house individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

This request is for summary information only. I am not requesting property-level address lists or manual reviews of individual case files. If any information is not held in the exact format requested, please provide the closest equivalent data you do hold and briefly explain any differences.

For the purposes of this request, temporary accommodation means accommodation arranged or secured by the authority to meet homelessness duties, including, where used, B&Bs/hotels, hostels, nightly-paid accommodation, private sector leased accommodation, self-contained temporary accommodation and any other temporary placements.

Please provide the following information for each of the last two complete financial years:

• 2023/24
• 2024/25

And, where readily available, please also provide 2025/26 year-to-date figures up to your latest complete month, shown separately.

Please provide:

1. The number of households placed in temporary accommodation at any point during each period.
   If held, please also provide the figure for households with dependent children.
2. The number of households in temporary accommodation on the last day of each period.
   If held, please also provide the figure for households with dependent children.
3. The total number of inspections, checks or other property standards / health and safety visits carried out in relation to temporary accommodation during each period.
4. The number of temporary accommodation properties, placements or cases where serious hazards were identified during each period.
   If your authority records these differently, please provide the closest equivalent measure used.
5. The number of complaints or reports received relating to the condition, health or safety of temporary accommodation during each period.
6. The number of formal enforcement actions taken in relation to temporary accommodation properties during each period.
   If possible, please include the total number and, where readily available, a breakdown by type of action.
7. For 2024/25 only, if readily available, please provide the main issue types identified in temporary accommodation, for example:
   1. damp and mould
   2. fire safety
   3. electrical safety
   4. heating / hot water failure
   5. pests / infestation
   6. overcrowding / space standards
   7. structural hazards
8. For 2024/25 only, if readily available, please provide:
   1. the number of complaints relating specifically to damp and mould
   2. the number of complaints relating specifically to fire safety
   3. the average or median time to first response for condition-related complaints
9. For 2024/25 only, if readily available, please provide the number of temporary accommodation providers or landlords that were:
   1. removed from use due to standards or condition concerns, or
   2. subject to a formal “do not use” decision or equivalent

Response

Please note that we moved to our current software system in July 2023 and only live data was carried across. 

1. (a) Up to and including 31/3/24 – 528 and 2024/25 - 333

(b) Up to and including 31/3/24 – 267 and 2024/25 - 145  

2. (a) As at 31/3/24 – 321 and as at 31/3/25 – 339

(b) As at 31/3/24 – 182 and as at 31/3/25 – 183 

In respect of questions 3-8, I can confirm that the Council may hold information falling within the description specified in your request, however it is not readily available and from our preliminary assessment, we have estimated that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ as the data is not held in a reportable format.   The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for Local Government it is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2½ working days in determining whether the information is held, locating, retrieving and extracting the data. I regret therefore, that on this occasion I must refuse this part of your request in accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act. 

9. (a) Zero.

(b) Zero.