12 December 2003
Nearly twice as many families are living in bed-and-breakfast style accommodation than are shown by official statistics, according to Barnardo's.
The children's charity says that many are excluded from Office of the Deputy Prime Minister figures because they are housed by social services departments or the National Asylum Support Service.
Others are placed in council hostels, but these are sometimes in a worse condition than B&Bs, Barnardo's told the ODPM's homelessness directorate in response to consultations on improving temporary accommodation.
Ministers have promised that, from next April, no families with children will be in a B&B for more than six weeks. Councils say they are well on the way to meeting this target.
Some families have been moved to private accommodation, but Barnardo's says subsidising rents in the private sector is not a long-term solution, especially if such accommodation is not properly regulated.
PFdec2003
