Number of families living in B&Bs on the rise
Joe Lepper
Friday, September 6, 2013
Benefit cuts and rising household debts have been blamed for an increase in the number of families forced to live in emergency bed and breakfast accommodation.
Latest government figures show there were 2,090 homeless families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation at the end of June, an increase of eight per cent on the same period the previous year.
Homelessness charity Shelter says major factors in the rise are restrictions on the level of housing benefit families can claim and a lack of support for homeowners facing repossession.
A survey of 4,000 people carried out by the charity in March found that six out of 10 working families with a mortgage or in rented accommodation were struggling to keep up with their monthly payments.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “These figures are a wake-up call. Ordinary families are falling through the net and risk losing everything. We’re worried about the thousands more just behind them who are living on a knife-edge, where all it takes is a sudden job loss or illness to tip a family into a downward spiral that can put their home at risk.”
Of the 2,090 families living in bed and breakfast accommodation, about a third (760) had been there for more than the statutory limit of six weeks. This is an increase of 10 per cent on the same period last year.
Shelter says life for families in such accommodation can involve living in a single room, with no cooking facilities and a shared bathroom.
Robb added: “We are asking the government to urgently build up the support available to families who face losing their homes and to protect the safety net that gives families who fall on hard times the advice and support they need to rebuild their lives.”
Housing minister Mark Prisk said the government had made available £470m to councils to support those with housing problems.
He added: "Local authorities are also being supported through the Gold Standard for Homelessness services to deliver high-quality housing solutions for vulnerable people.”
The Gold Standard for Homelessness services is backed by £1.7m worth of government funding to councils for housing support services and to train staff.
