Andy Burnham reveals huge cost of temporary housing for Greater Manchester councils each year

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham
-Credit: (Image: Vincent Cole)


Jim McMahon was leader of Oldham Council back in 2014 when Greater Manchester's first devolution deal was signed, setting the wheels in motion which have now made Andy Burnham arguably the most powerful Labour figure outside London.

A decade on, he's now the government Minister in charge of overseeing new deals handing powers from Whitehall to leaders across the North.

And he's been popping up at events around Labour conference in Liverpool with the message that Keir Starmer's government is truly committed to its so-called 'devolution revolution'.

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At a fringe event organised by the CLES, Centre for Local Economic Strategies, Oldham MP Mr McMahon told how the new government's approach would be "devolution by default".

In practice this means Whitehall would accept requests for powers to be handed to local leaders unless it has a "really good excuse".

Jim McMahon, Minister for Local Government and Devolution, at Labour conference in Liverpool
Jim McMahon, Minister for Local Government and Devolution, at Labour conference in Liverpool

But at the same time - as areas like Lancashire continue to resist having an elected figurehead - he made it clear that Labour's preference is for metro mayors. Not least because areas without them would not be represented on the new Council of Nations and Regions.

During the debate dedicated to 'reclaiming our regional economies' Mr Burnham looked intent on pushing the Government's apparent interest in handing over powers to local leaders as far as it could go.

Criticising the Tony Blair government's tendency to deregulate, the Greater Manchester mayor told of his desire to take "public control of life's essentials", including taking vital utilities like water or electricity under local ownership.

On education, he said he wanted the Government to give him the ability to manage school exclusions policy as "too many kids" are excluded from schools and "written off before they should be".

And he lobbied for greater local involvement in the benefits system, with the current centralised model "designed to trip people up" rather than help them into work.

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He told delegates: "I would love nothing more than every Job Centre Plus in Greater Manchester to be renamed a Live Well Centre, and rather than big corporates who don't know our communities and don't really contribute to them, but [Co-operatives UK], the local volunteering community sector, will be in those places providing that support for people to move forward in their life.

"I think we would get much better returns for the money that goes into the benefit system if it was a more place based local system focused more on help, rather than sanctions."

He revealed he was lobbying Chancellor Rachel Reeves for his Greater Manchester Combined Authority to be able to build council and social housing on land being disposed of by public bodies, taking the pressure off his region's local councils.

He added: "We have just done a unique piece of research that shows our 10 councils are currently spending £65m a year on the cost of temporary accommodation. That's the cost of the housing crisis for local government."

Temporary accommodation is a place to stay while someone is looking for a long-term home and can be offered to people who are homeless or eligible for assistance.

Nationally there has been a rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation – up by more than 13% from September 2022 to December 2023.

Dave Smith, chief executive of Heywood-based charity Stepping Stone, says a number of factors have led to the spike seen in recent years.

A lack of social housing, following the right to buy scheme, is at the heart of the problem. There is a lack of turnover in social housing, leading to huge waits for available homes.