THE number of people coming to a council as homeless or at risk of losing the roof over their heads has gone up by more than third since new government legislation came into force.

This increase has put pressure on Blackburn with Darwen Council staff dealing with the problem, the borough's adult services boss Sayyed Osman has revealed.

Now the authority is seeking charities and private companies to bid for a contract to draw up a new Homeless Strategy for the from January until December 2021.

Its existing one expires in December.

Cllr John Slater, leader of the council's Conservative opposition group, described the decision as 'sensible' but the borough's lone Liberal Democrat Councillor Roy Davies branded it 'strange'.

In April the Homeless Reduction Act 2018 imposed new duties on councils to help anyone homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days including a personalised accommodation plan.

Last week Communities Secretary James Brokenshire announced a new Rough Sleeping Strategy using £100million of money redirected from other budgets to support people who were homeless or at risk of becoming so, including support for mental health, addiction treatment, and housing.

The tender document invites bids from 'suitably qualified and experienced organisations' to devise 'a proactive strategy'.

It must prevent homelessness, ensure sufficient accommodation to meet the needs the homeless, provide support services and stop people becoming homeless repeatedly.

The bidders are asked to address the borough's 'abundance of Houses in Multiple Occupation and the migration issues these bring'.

Mr Osman said: “Dealing with people who present as homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, is a high priority.

“Since the introduction of the Homeless Reduction Act, we have experienced a 35 to 40 per cent increase in referrals. Each is also taking three times longer as every person has to be offered a meeting and a full assessment.

“Given these demands, and the statutory duty to produce a Homeless Strategy, we have decided to put it out to tender.

"This will allow staff to concentrate on working with some of the borough’s most vulnerable people.”

Cllr Davies said: "I think this is a strange move.

"You would think council staff would know the needs of the borough better than an outside group.

"I am also concerned at the cost and whether the money would be better used bringing our 3,000 empty houses back into use."

Cllr Slater said: "I think this is sensible in view of the government's announcement it is putting significant investment into tackling homelessness.

"These leaves front-line staff able to deal with the issue directly."