More accommodation for homeless people in Salford could be created as the council looks to increase capacity within its temporary housing schemes.
Temporary housing, which the council has a legal duty to provide, is already available at Abbott Lodge in Pendleton and The Sash Project in Broughton.
They offer 24-hour support for people with complex needs such as drug, alcohol and mental health issues with up to 35 places available in total.
But with the contract coming to an end at November 2021, Salford council will seeking to increase overall capacity to support 45 people at the same cost.
The local authority is also looking for providers to offer this type of temporary supported accommodation in the west of the city as it retenders the contract.
It comes as demand for statutory temporary accommodation from single homeless people has more than doubled since April 2018 in Salford.
In October, there were 123 single homeless people requiring accommodation.
Salford council manager Jane Barlow told councillors on Wednesday (February 17) why the two temporary accommodation schemes are 'really crucial'.
She said: "They help residents to become tenancy-ready through a combination of intensive assessment and housing-related support.
"Both the schemes are currently fully utilised and unfortunately not all clients that we have in the city are able to access this higher level of support that they may require.
"Without the provision of these commissioned supported accommodation schemes, that will result in an increase in the use of bed and breakfast accommodation which isn't cost-effective and it also reduces a loss of housing subsidy.
"The clients will also not be able to access that higher level of support that they require."
Salford council will be seeking a five-year contract with an option to extend for a further two years, with a preferred bidder expected to be selected in July.
Labour councillor Bill Hinds, who is the lead member for finance and support services, approved the recommendation to go out to tender on March 1.
He said: "This is a very serious issue for us and has been for a good time. So we really need to support people. And things could go even worse as we start to come out of this pandemic.
"Things could be far, far worse so we really need to do something positive."
Deputy city mayor John Merry stressed the importance of quality in the service, saying that the council should not just go for the cheapest option.
He added: "I'll be looking very carefully at the people who come forward to provide that service.
"There are people in the city who we know would not be suitable."
