The housing and communities board has ‘accelerated’ its search for a replacement service for the homeless following the closure of Graih.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan says the government has commissioned a new service to start up with a target date of January 1, 2023.

He told the House of Keys this week that ‘any gap in provision is not ideal’.

Homelessness charity Graih ceased operations on September 30 this year after an assessment of the sustainability of the service.

The overnight shelter had been running since 2008, providing drop-ins, emergency shelter and pastoral support to ‘homeless people and those in insecure or unsuitable accommodation’.

‘We are acting and reacting to circumstances unforeseen when we wrote the pathways and the Island Plan,’ Mr Cannan said. ‘It was an unfortunate issue that really did occur at short notice but I think we have acted quickly in light of that.’

When asked to provide the number of those who are homeless in the island, the Chief Minister could not respond, saying there is ‘no formal reporting’ around this.

Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse revealed that Graih hosted 3,000 bed nights between 2019 and when it shut down in 2022.

Mr Cannan said: ‘Four to five people a night were accessing the Graih service but there are a number of variables at play here.’

He added that the government is working ‘as fast as it can’ to implement a new service as it talks to potential providers on how it can ‘effectively commission’ that service.

Douglas South MHK Claire Christian asked if the government is looking to bring in statutory reporting, to which Mr Cannan explained that it has set out a pathway to ‘put this on a firmer footing’.

‘The government recognises it needs to do much more around the housing policy in general,’ he said. ‘A strategic review of homelessness is underway.’