Campaigners have criticised the way that the council awarded a £19 million contract to provide temporary housing for homeless people in Brighton and Hove.
But the Labour leader of the council Bella Sankey defended the move, saying that it was urgent because of increasing need and soaring costs.
One critic, Charles Harrison, from the Brighton and Hove Housing Coalition, questioned the wisdom of awarding a six-year contract to a company incorporated less than three years ago – in May 2023.
Mr Harrison said that Brighton and Hove City Council had entered into a rushed contract with Base One and he raised concern’s about the company’s lack of assets.
The council published a “transparency notice” on its website on Friday 2 January setting out basic details of the £3 million-a-year deal for Base One to provide 209 homes, with 24-hour support.
At a meeting of the full council on Thursday (29 January) Mr Harrison said that the coalition was aware of the increased demand facing the council – and the high cost of booking nightly emergency and temporary housing from private providers.
He asked why such a large contract had been so rushed and why no alternative options had been explored and no proper public scrutiny had taken place at a council meeting.
Mr Harrison said that the company had assets of £55,000 making it a relatively small company to have an £18.8 million contract over six years.
He also said that it did not have a proven track record of delivering services although it was paid more than £840,000 by the council in the first eight months of the current financial year.
He said: “A lot can happen is six years. I haven’t seen any reference to risk analysis, so whether the assumptions may change in that six-year period.
“Has there been any kind of risk register formed? Are there any plans for risk workshops to develop mitigation strategies?”
Councillor Sankey said that the cost of providing temporary housing was “significant” and had grown in recent years.
The council had allocated £28 million for temporary housing in the 2025-26 budget and was currently forecast to overspend that sum by £4 million.
She said that the council has gone from booking 114 units of temporary housing a night in 2022 to 520 by November last year.
This had led to the council facing much higher costs compared with longer-term temporary housing.
More than 2,000 households currently relied on temporary housing in Brighton and Hove, the council was told.
Councillor Sankey said: “This council therefore took an urgent decision to stabilise temporary accommodation provision and address a significant in-year overspend for nightly paid placements.
“This was necessary to help us address an anticipated in-year overspend while maintaining the continuity of our service for Brighton and Hove residents experiencing homelessness.”
Councillor Sankey said that she heard Mr Harrison’s concerns and, ideally, the decision would have been made by the council’s cabinet, with debate and public questions.
She said that cost pressures linked to temporary housing were well known and the council had taken radical steps to reduce those costs.
Another member of the Brighton and Hove Housing Coalition, Daniel Harris, wanted to address the council’s cabinet meeting on Thursday 22 January on behalf of a group of mothers living long term in temporary housing with their autistic children.
He was angry to learn that the deadline for seeking to do so was Monday 12 January, two days before the agenda was published.
Mr Harris said: “These are all Brighton families and all have protected characteristics and their children are most certainly adversely impacted by decisions not taken to cabinet.
“I consider this to be indirect discrimination and request you level the playing field.”
He said that the council had created a £30 million “wealth siphon” to private landlords.
The Housing Coalition called for an independent audit into the rushed and secret elements of the £18.8 million direct award to Base One.
It also called for families with children who have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) or disability to be given the highest priority.
Shannon Bourne said that she slept on a box-room floor and had been trapped in limbo in temporary housing for 14 years.
She criticised the early deadline for public involvement, saying: “The council effectively silenced me before I could even see what was on the agenda. This is a breach of procedural fairness.
“If the council can process written questions up until the 16th, there is no objective justification for forcing disabled parents to submit complex oral deputations 10 days before the meeting.”
The Base One contract was confirmed without debate by the full council.
