DOZENS of homeless people have been transferred to Brighton since the start of last year, The Argus can reveal.

Almost 70 homeless were moved from as far as Manchester to Brighton and Hove between January 2018 and June 2019.

Meanwhile 202 people in Brighton were moved out of the city to be “reconnected” with family or friends.

That includes 14 people who were transferred to another country.

This all comes under the national policy of “reconnection”, which binds councils to transfer homeless people to other areas of the country where they have local connections.

Brighton and Hove City Council said it provided “the cheapest way for them to get back to the place they have a connection with”.

Brighton Housing Trust chief executive Andy Winter said the policy existed “for the best of reasons”.

“The housing situation in Brighton would be much worse if we didn’t have this policy,” Mr Winter said.

“If the 202 people who were reconnected from Brighton were still here, it could have been worse.

“In an ideal world everyone who comes to Brighton would get accommodation.

“But we live in a far from ideal world. I don’t think things will improve significantly for the rest of my career.”

Mr Winter said those considering living in Brighton should not come to the city unless they have a home sorted.

“There are a lot of reasons why people would come here,” he said.

“It has the image of a party city.

“But when it comes to housing the reality is very different. Accommodation is ridiculously expensive.

“It would be a cruel hoax to tell these people there is a chance of them being accommodated.”

A city council spokesman said it would only transfer the homeless outside of Brighton if they have no local connection with the area and they have a connection elsewhere.

“A referral will be made after a local authority assesses a person’s circumstances,” he said.

“We provide help to travel only if there is accomodation on offer.

“We do not provide travel for people sleeping rough here to sleep rough in another area.”

When the council receives homeless people from other parts of the country, it is “required to relieve their homelessness”.

“Councils have to accept a referral from another authority carried out lawfully,” he said.

“On accepting a referral, it becomes the receiving authority’s responsibility to assess and provide relevant support to the applicant.

“We will be required to relieve their homelessness by finding alternative accommodation or provide social housing.”

When asked if the policy caused strain on council services, the spokesman said “any additional duty on the council causes pressure on service provision in Brighton and Hove”.