A senior politician has admitted the demand for beds by those made homeless has been ‘higher than expected’.

In just the three months between January and March, nearly 3,000 bed nights were provided to those in need with the average cost per bed per night standing at £63.64

At this week’s House of Keys sitting, Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Justin Moorhouse asked the Chair of the Housing and Communities Board David Ashcroft MHK how many bed nights were provided for homeless people between January 6 2025 and 16th April 2025 and how much this cost.

Mr Ashford told the House: ‘In the calendar months January, February and March, 2,955 bed nights were provided to people presenting to Manx Care as homeless.

‘This was at a total cost of £187,990. The demand for this service has been higher than anticipated which shows, in my view, a need that was not necessarily visible until now.

‘There is a difficult balance to be struck between making sure resources targeted at those most in need and making sure we have no one sleeping rough on the island, especially in the colder months.

‘We have improvements to make to the service, but we are assisting those in need.’

When asked if he knew how many individuals had been provided bed nights, Mr Ashford said he did not have that figure to hand but would circulate it when he received it.

He also said work was ongoing to find alternative accommodation for those being put up in hotels and B&Bs with TT coming up.

Mr Ashford explained that there are a number of different issues people face, such as financial difficulties, drug and alcohol problems, relationship breakdowns and suddenly being excluded from properties.

He admitted there were probably some individuals the service was still not capturing but says that is most likely down to people not wanting to use the service for whatever reason.

But he said: ‘I do believe the service has been successful, perhaps almost too successful, in managing to draw out those issues. We have been providing a very valuable service putting roofs over people’s heads.

He also outlined improvements still needed, including better engagement with service users and trying to provide a more sustainable model which does not rely on the use of hotels and B&Bs.

He did confirm a team of social workers within Manx Care were now in place to run the service which has been in place since the start of April. He said it was often not just homelessness but other needs and issues people have.

Mr Ashford said: ‘Homelessness can strike at any time to anyone. It is not just people from particular backgrounds.

‘The important thing is identifying the underlying issues that are causing this and ensuring people get the bespoke help they actually need and directed to the right services to help them.

‘We need to be ensuring we are driving forward and getting bespoke accommodation built and there are vacant properties in the government estate I believe we could be utilising to drive this service forward and those conversations are ongoing.’