NINE houses in multiple occupation offering support to vulnerable clients in a borough are to be inspected in a £1million drive to improve standards.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has been a given £946,000 government grant over three years to review the bedsit accommodation and bring in a regular audit of conditions.

The borough has become magnet for homeless and vulnerable people, often with addiction problems.

The nine properties - which include The Islington, Union House and the Salvation Army's Bramwell House in Blackburn - offer hundreds of bed sits.

The occupants are blamed for anti-social behaviour, begging, prostitution, street drinking and drug usage which blight Blackburn town centre.

The council's executive board will on Thursday be asked to authorise a strategy to inspect the premises and liaise with residents to ensure they are receiving the support they need, that their living conditions are suitable and that the extra payments received from the government by operators are value for taxpayers' money.

It dovetails with moves by the council to make it harder to set up new such properties in the borough.

The grant from the government's Supported Housing Improvement Programme follows a successful £360,000 pilot project in 2020/21.

A report by the authority's finance director Dean Langton says: "Blackburn with Darwen has historically had high numbers of short-term supported accommodation.

"The programme will seek to improve the property conditions and support delivered to residents.

"It will seek to focus exclusively on the short-term provision in the borough via large Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) models.

"This activity will see the scheduled inspection of nine properties.

"The team will proactively obtain feedback on the standard and depth of support offered to residents following which we will work with providers to improve standards. However, where appropriate, action will be taken.

"One of the biggest challenges to improving the standard of Supported Accommodation in the borough is obtaining sufficient feedback and information from residents.

"The culmination of our programme of work will allow for the regular audit of supported accommodation providers.

"Where failures are identified, warning notices will be issued. Should poor standards continue, it will be in our power to suspend the payment of claims and potentially withdraw the supported status of a provider.

"To ensure that we have an accurate and complete understanding of the borough’s current and future supported accommodation needs, a comprehensive strategic review will be undertaken."

Cllr Phil Riley, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "We have been asking for government support for many years to help manage the HMOs in Blackburn.

"There are more HMOs in the town than it can practically support."

His Conservative group counterpart Cllr John Slater said: "We welcome this move and the government grant to pay for it."

Colin Mottershead, the service manager of Bramwell House, said: "We would welcome this. We adhere to all the appropriate standards. We have nothing to hide or to be afraid of."