We have launched an open call, inviting local authorities to submit expressions of interest for evidence support from the Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP) and/or from our fellow What Works Centre, the Centre for Homelessness Impact. Click here to submit your application.
The housing and homelessness crisis
Policy makers across Wales have repeatedly highlighted the deepening housing emergency as a key priority. One of the most acute and visible consequences of the housing emergency in Wales is the rising numbers of people experiencing homelessness, with 13,287 households assessed as homeless in 2024/25 and rough in August 2025. Connected to this, there has also been a surge in demand for temporary accommodation, with 11,029 people housed in temporary accommodation in August 2025 up from 3,566 individuals in August 2020.
At WCPP, we have been exploring how we might meaningfully support Welsh local authorities to access and apply evidence to help address these challenges as part of our Tackling Inequalities priority area.
Health and wellbeing implications for residents
Whilst temporary accommodation does provide a roof over a person’s head, it is not a substitute for a permanent home. Evidence from the Bevan Foundation and Shelter Cymru highlights that temporary accommodation is often of poor quality, does not meet the needs of residents and can be costly for them. The negative impact on health and wellbeing for people living in temporary accommodation cannot be understated. The negative impacts can result from a range of factors, including: personal safety concerns; being housed a distance from family, friends, school and work; unsuitable accommodation; and the precarity of the housing placement.
Crippling costs for local authorities
Additionally, local authorities are not only concerned about the complex human impacts of temporary accommodation, but the surge in demand for temporary accommodation has resulted in unprecedented and unsustainable levels of spending for councils. A recent Audit Wales report revealed that council spending on temporary accommodation in Wales increased from £28 million in 2019 to £172 million by 2023-24.
Our offer of evidence support
We have been exploring how we may work with local authorities to utilise existing evidence, research and insight to address some of the challenges they’re facing related to homelessness and temporary accommodation. We have decided to launch an open call, providing local authorities with the opportunity to – independently or in collaboration with each other or other partners – submit expressions of interest for evidence support.
Watch this video to learn more about the submission process:
We hope that this will provide local authorities with the opportunity to access and apply evidence that will best suit the needs and circumstances of their organisations. Where possible, we will also connect local authorities with other organisations and evidence centres, such as our fellow What Works Centre, the Centre for Homelessness Impact (CHI). We’re not asking local authorities to provide a fully-formed project idea but instead to share some information about the nature of their challenge and how evidence might help to address it. We will then be able to consider how we, or other organisations, might be able to offer evidence support.
Our collaborative workshop
To share more information about the support we offer as well as recent research on temporary accommodation, we ran an online workshop for local authorities on the 27th November 2025.
Our workshop brought together key members of housing and homelessness teams from the majority of Wales’ 22 local authorities to hear some of the latest evidence related to temporary accommodation and to facilitate discussion between attendees on key challenges that could be addressed using existing evidence. During the morning session, we heard some of the latest evidence related to temporary accommodation in Wales from our presenters:
- Philippa Dixon and Timothy Buckle, Audit Wales on their report: Temporary accommodation, long-term crisis?
- Jennie Bibbings, Senedd Research on the policy landscape and Bill progress;
- Wendy Dearden, Bevan Foundation on their report The impact of temporary accommodation on children and their families;
- Ian Thomas, ADR Wales on the SAIL databank and the possibilities of linked data and;
- Benjamin Lewis, Welsh Government Knowledge and Analytics Services (KAS) on their 2024 Workforce Survey.
The breadth and depth of challenges facing local authorities based on their context and circumstances was apparent during the workshop, but it was clear that all local authorities have the desire to reduce the demand for temporary accommodation, and to improve provision when it’s needed. Additionally, they share the collective aspiration that where temporary accommodation is necessary, the experience should be a positive one for residents, and as rare, brief and unrepeated as possible.
How to submit an EOI for evidence support
Along with the Centre for Homelessness Impact, our ambition is to meaningfully support local authorities to access and apply evidence to support them to reduce demand for temporary accommodation and, where it is necessary, to improve its use and provision. To do this, we invite local authorities, individually or as collectives, to share Expressions of Interest with us for
CLICK HERE for more detailed information on the open call and to submit an application.
CLICK HERE to watch our workshop presentation on the EoI process.
Submission closing date: Friday 30th January
If you have any questions, or for any additional information, please contact rosalind.phillips@wcpp.org.uk
