Worthing Borough Council is planning to seek support from the government, after its forecasts showed that 30% of it’s yearly budget in 2026 will be spent on temporary accommodation.

The council faces overspending on its budget this year by 10%, with the mounting pressure of homelessness support playing a key role. 335 households raised concerns of homelessness in the first six months of this year alone, a small increase on numbers from last year. However, figures from the previous year where a nearly 30% jump from the one prior, with the homelessness situation continuing to escalate.

A press release from the council detailed the extensive measures taken to avoid their current situation, including building their own temporary accommodation and making long-term deals to avoid the use of costly B&Bs.

The press release said: “This surge in local people needing support means we have felt forced to approach the MHCLG to request further exceptional financial support to balance its books this year.

“We have also advised MHCLG that unless Worthing benefits from a significant increase in financial support as part of the government’s fair funding review this year, we expect to need additional support in 2026-27 as well.”

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Worthing’s situation is not unique. Across the country, local authorities are repeatedly pointing to homelessness support as a crippling financial drain, sapping resources from other initiatives and decreasing the quality of services overall as councils battle with the frontline consequences of the housing crisis. Situations like Worthing’s show the importance of investment in social and affordable housing, the first points of refuge for those trying to recover from homelessness. Market rate homes and apartments will do little to help the surging wave of those reduced to homelessness, a crisis that shows no signs of slowing down.

The Council’s interim director for core services, Emma Thomas highlighted the extensive lobbying done surrounding the temporary accommodation issue and itis impacts on councils across the country, and despite the government’s fair funding review methodology, more needs to be done to fill the gap: “It is expected that Worthing will continue to require support through the EFS scheme for the foreseeable future unless there are significant changes in government funding for homelessness.”

The use of temporary accommodation across the UK has exploded over recent years due to the ongoing housing crisis, a situation that has seen a record number of children living in temporary accommodation for the past eight years in a row. Covering the costs of this temporary accommodation falls to local authorities, and the subsidies they can reclaim have long since been outpaced by the true cost of the situation.