East Cambridgeshire must not be complacent if it is to continue tackling homelessness, a council leader has warned. 

More than £670,000 in government funding has been awarded to the district to address the issue, despite receiving nearly £10,000 less for 2022-23 from the Homelessness Prevention Grant scheme. 

Councillor Anna Bailey, leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC), said the funding “reflects additional cost of living demand, where we are seeing a small increase in our residents coming forward for support and advice. 

“The funding importantly reflects the additional financial pressure from the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.” 

In ECDC’s 2020-25 homelessness strategy, the council dealt with 361 household requests for assistance in relation to the threat of homelessness or becoming homeless between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. 

According to government figures between April and June 2022, 67 households threatened with homelessness within a 56-day period were assessed.

Ely Standard: Just 67 households in East Cambridgeshire threatened with homelessness were assessed within a 56-day period between April and June last year, according to government figures.Just 67 households in East Cambridgeshire threatened with homelessness were assessed within a 56-day period between April and June last year, according to government figures. (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

“We will continue to use the funds to focus on early intervention and prevention of homelessness,” said Cllr Bailey. 

“In the short and medium term, we will have particular focus on working in partnership with agencies to focus on more complex homeless issues, such as rough sleeping and mental health.” 

In its strategy, ECDC said the main factor contributing to an increasing trend of people becoming homeless is through residents “being evicted from the private rented sector through no fault of their own”. 

The council aims to tackle homelessness through several ways such as encouraging more landlords to work with them in using private rented accommodation. 

But Cllr Bailey warned that the council “cannot be complacent. 

“As more complex homelessness issues arise, we continue to join up our services with our key partners to support people to stay in their home or find suitable accommodation that gives stability to those that need it most.”