Homelessness in Bath and North East Somerset has gone up by an "extremely worrying" 40% in the last year.

218 households in the area are currently homeless, with another 277 households at risk of becoming homeless in the next 56 days. Of the people suffering homelessness in the area, 180 are believed to have had to sleep rough at some point in the last year.

Bath and North East Somerset Council cabinet member for adult services Alison Born told a council scrutiny panel on Monday December 11: " Nationally and locally rates of homelessness are increasing and the cost of living crisis and the shortage of affordable housing are putting many more families at risk of homelessness.

"These numbers have increased by 40% in B&NES in the last year which is an extremely worrying statistic."

Ann Robins, housing strategy and commissioning manager at the council warned that a key issue was the financial "squeeze." She said: "People aren't able to stay in situations that they were just about managing in before."

She added that no fault evictions were one of the top drivers of the "drastic" increase. No fault evictions happen when a landlord uses a section 21 notice to kick tenants out of their home, despite them having done nothing wrong.

Michelle O'Doherty, councillor for Newbridge, told the panel: "Having had two section 21 notices in the last 12 months, I can tell you it has a massive impact on your mental health, your sleep, everything."

She added: "I have just moved house again for the second time in 12 months and I'm worried now is my landlord going to tell me I've got to leave that house as well through no fault of my own. I've always paid my rent on time, kept the house tidy, and everything else.

"I'm quite lucky in that I have good mental health generally so it's not had a huge impact on me really, but one more time will be the straw that breaks the camel's back."

A ban on the practice was in the works at a national level until October, when it was put on hold. Ms O'Doherty said she was "really frustrated" that nothing had been done.

An annual count of people sleeping rough on one night takes place nationally every year in autumn. The most recent found 12 people sleeping rough on one night in Bath and North East Somerset — but local housing data suggests that over the year 180 people will have slept rough at some point.

However council cabinet member for adult services Alison Born said: "[The count] underestimates the scale of the problem because it only counts people who are sleeping out in the open. It doesn't count people who are in insecure accommodation who are sleeping in hostels or night shelters."

A report which went before councillors — described as "sobering" — warned: "The long-term homeless often die at a much younger age than the general population and have a much poorer quality of life. Being homeless for even a short period of time increases the risk of long-term health problems.

"When homeless people die it is usually due to treatable medical problems."

The council runs a dedicated homeless healthcare service as daily clinics located with the homeless hostel and outreach services. The council is also working to fill the role of a mental health outreach worker.

Ms Robins said: "We know that getting someone into mental health services can make a lot of difference."

People wanting to volunteer or donate to help people sleeping rough over the Christmas period are asked to contact Julian House or DHI to find out what they need. In Bath, Nationwide Building Society on Stall Street also has a 'Tap and Donate' point for contactless donations. Julian House administers the fund to help equip people with the items they need when they are moving on from sleeping rough.

At Julian House's Manvers Street Hostel in Bath, there is a takeaway food provision available for clients who are street rough sleeping. This is available for breakfast from 7am to 10am, lunch from 1pm to 2pm and dinner from 7pm to 8pm.

The council has also co-ordinated a directory of warm spaces which can be found here: https://livewell.bathnes.gov.uk/warm-places-list