THE Housing Department should be doing more to relieve the shortage of temporary accommodation. St Peter Port deputy Jean Pritchard said it was not doing enough to provide emergency accommodation or to free up residences by introducing permanent housing.

‘There is nowhere to look after people in need,’ said Deputy Pritchard, the Scrutiny Committee chairman.

‘Sarnia Housing have a lot of accommodation but people are living in so-called temporary accommodation for two years or more – that is more permanent than temporary. In an emergency, people need somewhere to go, but too often rooms are blocked.’

But Housing deputy minister Mark Dorey said that the department was focused on providing permanent residences and it would not keep places empty in case of crises.

He added that as more permanent housing came on line, people would be able to move out of temporary accommodation and therefore free up space. When the department provided temporary accommodation, it often became used for a longer period than intended.

Sarnia Housing and Maison St Pierre currently experienced the same problems. This was due to the reduction in States housing because of the transfer of three sites to the Guernsey Housing Association for redevelopment.

‘With the Delancey development now complete and tenanted and the first phase of Rue des Marais/Rue des Lierres due for completion later this year, the situation will ease.

‘This is because either existing States tenants or persons on our joint waiting list will occupy 75% of the association’s dwellings,’ he said.

Deputy Pritchard said that in some cases people in States housing or on the waiting list were treated unfairly. Persons could be removed from their home for incidents that might not directly involve them and might be outside their control. For example, women and children who were the victims of domestic violence.

But they then have to look for temporary accommodation. Once they have found this, they then have to get reassessed, based on their new accommodation, and wait at least six months before they are again considered for States housing.

Deputy Dorey said that if a person chose to move before the department could rehouse them, then the process of assessment had to start again.

‘We have to avoid the situation whereby an applicant deliberately worsens their situation in an attempt to jump the queue for housing,’ he said.

‘Nevertheless, the six-month waiting period is not applied rigidly and if there has been a good reason why someone has moved, then the department may choose to waive the requirement and enable the applicant to retain their pointing.’