I agree with a lot of what Andy Wightman said. Our challenge is that, at the heart of the issue, we simply do not have enough appropriate housing across the country. There is a fundamental shortage of the affordable and appropriate housing that people need. It is also about the capacity of our local authorities to have available not only physical housing but the right support, for a range of people.
For example, we mentioned people who are homeless. They might have pre-existing needs that require urgent attention and support, and not only in the short term—they might need long-term and proper support to enable them to move on in their lives. Support is also needed for people who are going through the trauma of leaving abusive relationships. We know the difficulty that women with children in particular have in getting accommodation. In addition, there is the hidden issue, which we are not even discussing, of people who simply cannot move on generally, because of the impact of the pandemic.
Those are real challenges for our councillor colleagues. I know people who are having to wait years to get access to social housing or to the right move. Although I welcome the work that is being done, the critical issue as we move into the winter months is to get people into safe and dignified accommodation that meets their needs.
My challenge in considering the motion that is before us is that I do not want to stop the work that councils are doing, even if it is not perfect. That work is underfunded and councils are dealing with a shortage of housing. The work of Shelter and other third sector organisations has been fantastic throughout the pandemic, and we will need them to support people through Christmas and into next year, until the pandemic is under control.
The problem is that not enough support has been provided to our local authorities over the past few months. I know from talking to people in my area that we have 1,200 households in unsuitable accommodation at the moment. The council is buying short-term let properties to take them off the market and make them accessible to people for longer-term tenancies, which is great. However, my council is £10 million over budget for temporary accommodation because of Covid.
Because of the fundamental problems that our councils face, I find it difficult to stop the statutory instrument going through. Although it would make me feel good to knock it back, it would not change things on the ground. I therefore ask the minister what scope there is for improving the statutory instrument, as has been suggested, and for giving more resources to councillors to let them get on with the challenge.
I have met people on the streets who have been homeless and spoken to them about the kind of problems that they have. It is not that they do not appreciate being put up in short-term temporary accommodation such as hotels. However, for example, I spoke to people who were told that they could not stay in a hotel during the day; they were, in effect, back on the streets during the day, but in the hotel at night. There is a human cost to the pandemic, which I think that we all get.
Coming back to the issues, are there areas in the guidance that will be agreed between the Government and local authorities that the minister can improve? What extra resource can the minister put in place, and will he deal with the challenges that Shelter included in its briefing to the committee?