18 March 2005
Local authorities are flouting the law by placing families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks.
Nearly a year after the government outlawed this, new figures show that 100 families with children had been in B&B for more than six weeks at the end of December 2004.
Although this represents a reduction of 70 on the previous quarter, the charity Shelter said it was still unacceptable. It criticised the government for suggesting that dissatisfied families should take civil action against offending councils.
'They may not even know they have recourse to the law,' said a Shelter spokesman. 'If they are working, they won't automatically get access to legal aid and there is the problem of getting legal representation.'
An Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spokeswoman said it was willing to help councils find a long-term solution but confirmed that they risked legal challenges.
'It is disappointing that a small number of local authorities have not been able to sustain their initial success in meeting the government's target to end the long-term use of B&B for families with children,' she added.
The latest homelessness figures, published on March 14, show that 101,030 families were housed in temporary accommodation at the end of December. This represents little change on a revised figure for the previous quarter of 101,300.
Ministers have pledged to reduce homelessness by 50% before 2010, but that would still leave the number of households in temporary accommodation higher than the figure of 41,250 that Labour inherited in 1997.
Homelessness minister Lord Rooker drew comfort from the fact that the number of new cases fell for the fifth quarter in a row.
Speaking at the launch of the ODPM's 'Sustainable communities: settled homes, changing lives' strategy, he said: 'While the vast majority of these families are in good-quality homes, they don't have the security and opportunities a settled home brings.'
Funding to cut homelessness is being increased by £14m to £74m by 2007/08, while three London boroughs are piloting ways of helping homeless people find work.
PFmar2005
