The number of people placed in temporary accommodation in Carmarthenshire has fallen considerably but the costs haven’t.

Like all local authorities, Carmarthenshire Council helps people who are at risk of becoming homeless and this involves bed and breakfast and other forms of short-term accommodation.

Demand has soared in Wales in recent years although the number of people placed in temporary housing has remained steady since the second half of 2023, a report by Audit Wales in July found.

Carmarthenshire Council spent just over £2.51 million on temporary accommodation in 2024-25 – the equivalent of £48,354 per week – supporting 217 households.

The previous year, 2023-24, it spent £2.88 million accommodating 287 households and the year before that it spent £2.6 million helping 363 households.

The figures, provided following a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, also revealed that one person spent 25 months in bed and breakfast accommodation during that time.

The figures indicate it’s now costing more per household in accommodation costs, but it might be that the fewer households helped in 2024-25 compared to previous years are now spending longer in that accommodation.

The council said it was committed to helping people facing a housing crisis while longer-term housing options were explored.

Cllr Linda Evans, cabinet member for homes, said: “Our approach goes beyond an emergency response and we are actively working to shift towards a prevention-focused model which aims to reduce the need for temporary accommodation. This includes early intervention, partnership working and targeted support to help people remain in their homes or access sustainable housing options before crisis occurs.”

“Due to Carmarthenshire’s rural landscape, the housing pressures and nature of emergency presentations often creates different challenges to those in more urban counties.”

Some good news for councils is that they claw back a chunk of temporary housing costs from the Welsh Government. Carmarthenshire recouped £1.61 million in 2024-25, £2.1 million in 2023-24 and £1.95 million the year before that.

Neighbouring Swansea Council spent £6.26 million on temporary accommodation in 2024-25.

Audit Wales looked into temporary housing costs this year and said demand across the country had multiplied almost five-fold in the last decade.

The reasons included housing benefit – known as local housing allowance – falling below rental market rates, a shortage of available housing, cost-of-living pressures, and the Welsh Government’s “no-one left out” approach during the Covid pandemic to ensure people had a roof over their head.

Wales’s 22 councils, it said, spent £171.8 million on temporary accommodation in 2023-24 compared to £27.9 million four years previously.

Overall, Audit Wales found that councils were spending considerable sums but didn’t know whether they were getting value for money.

Speaking in July, auditor general Adrian Crompton said: “Councils are currently in ‘firefighting’ mode, focused on dealing with high costs and levels of demand. I recognise how challenging it may be to make the shift, but councils need to focus more on prevention and assessing the value for money of temporary accommodation.”