Hosuing officials in Brighton have found a way to cut the number of homeless people in the city - send them to Eastbourne.

The money-saving idea came from Brighton and Hove City Council's assistant director of housing Jugal Sharma.

He has told staff they should ship more people to stay in bed and breakfast accommodation 20 miles away in Eastbourne because it is cheaper.

It would cost the city council less than £20 per person for a night's B&B in Eastbourne, halving the price it currently pays in Brighton.

According to a source close to the council, Mr Sharma believes if the authority stops using the more expensive B&Bs in Brighton it may be able to negotiate cheaper rates in future.

It is not clear how many people would be sent to Eastbourne or if it would include street beggars.

A spokeswoman for the city council said: "This is one of many proposals to deal with homeless issues in the city. But it is only a proposal.

"We would not go any further with it without consulting with Eastbourne Borough Council."

The next stage would be to talk about the matter internally before taking it to Eastbourne.

The spokeswoman said there were no figures surrounding the proposal and Mr Sharma declined to speak to The Argus about his idea.

She said: "It has not been formally discussed. It is just his idea. This is something he wants to share with staff first."

Last month, the city council announced plans to sweep more than half the beggars off the streets of Brighton and Hove by next spring.

It set the target after receiving evidence more of them were becoming hooked on heroin. The knock-on effect was a marked increase in aggressive begging.

Father Alan Sharpe, founder of the homeless charity, the St Patrick's Trust in Cambridge Road, Hove, said there was little point trying to move people around the county because eventually the town they were sent to would want to send them somewhere else.

He said: "This is just trying to push the problem away instead of saying, 'We're a city and we all need to sit down and try to solve this problem'.

"I just don't understand what they're doing - all we will get is a whole group of people who don't come from anywhere.

"This is to do with everyone's support system.

"If you move someone to Eastbourne, they have no friends, no family. We just make the whole situation worse because there's no-one for them to turn to.

"This whole thing seems to be getting worse and worse. It's time for someone to bite the bullet."

Jack Hazelgrove, chairman of the city council's housing committee, declined to comment on the proposal as it had not been made official.

On the wider issue, Mr Hazelgrove said: "This is something which has been a problem with us for about five years.

"The huge pressures on accommodation in Brighton and Hove have meant we have been looking at other places.

"It might be Worthing, it might be Eastbourne. We have been looking at areas that are fairly near Brighton.

"That has been ongoing. But I don't think anyone needs to make any apologies for looking outside.

"One has a duty to try to spend the public's money in the best way."

Green councillor Bill Randall said: "I would support it only if there was proper social support and back up for any tenants based in Brighton.

"What the council must not do is just dump the tenants and forget about them - which is what other local authorities have unfortunately done."

Eastbourne Borough Council declined to comment.

A spokesman for Brighton charity Off The Fence said: "I can only hope in considering this proposal, Brighton and Hove City Council will recognise some - whom they may wish to move - may currently be linked in with service providers in the city, each of whom are working to address their needs.

"For those being sent to Eastbourne, to continue working with these services may prove to be financially difficult and possibly a backward step in seeking to address their needs."

Monday July 12, 2004