Cllr Jenny Wallace talks about the temporary accommodation pressures in Gravesham

Transcript

00:00 we've only got a finite number of council houses

00:04 or council stock, council owned stock.

00:07 So we have got to then find temporary accommodation

00:10 for them somewhere.

00:12 And we do not, we have tried to erode

00:16 unless it's an absolute emergency,

00:19 any bed and breakfast or hotel accommodation.

00:23 So we have a number of private landlords

00:26 who've set up nightly accommodation

00:28 from the point of view of it's a flat

00:31 and it's a nightly rate that's charged to the council,

00:34 which is quite steep.

00:35 So it costs the council quite a bit of money

00:38 and that's per night.

00:41 It is heartbreaking because these are people

00:45 who are having to relinquish their homes.

00:48 And if you've got two parents, one, two, three children,

00:53 I mean, it doesn't take much to imagine

00:57 what the upheaval is

00:59 and if they've got to move into temporary accommodation.

01:02 So that's why we as a council are trying to make it

01:06 as easy, it's not easy,

01:09 but as easy as we possibly can to help them

01:14 because you just, your heart goes out to them.