DUDLEY Council spent nearly £100,000 on emergency accommodation for homeless people last year, data shows.

A total of £91,570 was spent during the financial year from April 1 2021 to March 31 2022 on providing emergency housing.

The figure is a 59 per cent increase on spending the previous year when the authority shelled out £57,745 to house the homeless in an emergency – and a 62 per cent increase on the £56,639 spent in 2019 to 2020 prior to the pandemic.

The figures, supplied by Dudley Council, cover spending on various types of temporary accommodation such as local authority stock or stays in bed and breakfast accommodation.

Meanwhile, data from the Office for National Statistics shows there have been no deaths of homeless people in the Dudley borough since 2019.

Councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, cabinet member for housing and community services at Dudley Council, said: “We work really hard to prevent any deaths in the borough by providing accommodation to people when they most need it.

“We provide an emergency service 24 hours a day, 365 days a year working with people we find sleeping rough to provide them with accommodation and ensure they don’t have to spend a second night on the streets.

“Last year we spent more than £91,500 on emergency accommodation, which rose from the previous year because of the pandemic where we found more people needed our help.

“Anyone who knows of anyone without accommodation can contact us on 0300 555 2345 so we can get help to them quickly.”

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has said it is providing councils across the country with £316 million this year to prevent homelessness.

A spokesperson for the department added: “Temporary accommodation is a last resort, but a vital lifeline for those at risk of sleeping rough.”