AN ‘UNBELIEVABLE’ number of people are in shelter accommodation – with the true scale of homelessness in Jersey yet to be understood – according to the recently elected Housing Minister.
Deputy David Warr said that 167 Islanders were currently being supported across 17 provisions, such as emergency accommodation offered by the Shelter Trust, and that there was not enough ‘up-to-date’ data on the issue.
This, he said, included a lack of a definition of homelessness – something that was listed as one of eight key priorities in the Jersey Homelessness Strategic Board’s strategy published early last year.
‘It’s unbelievable – I don’t think we comprehend the scale of the issue,’ he said, adding that he had been meeting civil servants – including staff at Customer and Local Services – to consider potential solutions, such as changes to housing policy.
‘We need people at ground level telling us, as ministers, what the barriers are and how we can help facilitate their job,’ he said.
Asked what the true scale of homelessness in the Island might be, he said: ‘I don’t think anyone actually knows – we lack up-to-date data and mechanisms for collecting data that can then inform policy.’
He added that there was ‘nothing right’ about 167 people needing sheltered accommodation, and that the Island ‘should be aiming for zero’.
Jersey’s spiralling housing and rental costs are believed to be among the factors aggravating the problem, with the latest House Price Index placing the average cost of a home in the Island at £660,000 for the first quarter of 2022. Advertised rental prices were also 12% higher than during the first quarter of 2021, with many one-bed properties now costing around £1,300 a month.
Patrick Lynch, the chief executive of Caritas Jersey – one of the charities involved with the Jersey Homelessness Strategic Board – said a draft definition of homelessness was being developed, which would hopefully be available for States Members to present to the Assembly later in the year.
‘During the election there was a lot of talk about housing but not a lot about homelessness, although the two are intertwined,’ he said.
‘We are happy that he [Deputy Warr] is looking at it – the key thing is that is is data driven,’ he added, noting that he was seeking clarification on whether the statistic of 167 people included other providers such as the Sanctuary Trust, Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship and Women’s Refuge.
‘You need the statutory definition to see the true extent of the problem [of homelessness in Jersey]. Our working assumption is that it is nearer to 1,000 [people] than the 167 figure,’ he said.
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JERSEY’S AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES BROKEN DOWN BY PROPERTY TYPE (based on index for Q1 2022)
– One-bedroom flat: £339,000
– Two bedroom flat: £519,000
– Two-bedroom house: £606,000
– Three-bedroom house: £898,000
– Four-bedroom house: £1,166,000
