Emergency hotel and nightly-paid temporary accommodation for homeless applicants

The Council intends to directly award an interim arrangement for hotel and other nightly-paid accommodation for use as emergency temporary accommodation for homeless applicants. The proposed direct award relies on extreme and unavoidable urgency.

The Council has statutory duties under homelessness legislation, including the duty to provide interim accommodation for specified homeless applicants where the statutory threshold is met. Demand is urgent, unpredictable and case-specific. The Council may need to secure suitable accommodation on the same day, taking account of household composition, vulnerability, medical needs, accessibility, domestic abuse risk, criminal justice restrictions, location, availability and other suitability factors.

Existing purpose-built temporary accommodation is not sufficient or suitable for all cases, particularly single applicants and applicants with complex support needs. Hotel and other nightly-paid accommodation is therefore required as a last resort to maintain statutory service continuity.

A competitive procedure is not practicable for the immediate interim requirement because placements are required urgently and must be matched to individual suitability and availability factors. The arrangement is limited in scope and duration to maintain service continuity only until 23 February 2027 while the Council develops a longer-term procurement route, potentially through a Dynamic Market.

Part of the internally approved period had already elapsed before publication of this notice. The notice is being published to provide transparency in respect of the Council's formalisation and governance of the current interim position.