Councils Warned Over 'Unacceptable' B&B Stays for Families

The number of families housed in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks has tripled in the space of just a year, prompting a warning to councils from housing minister Grant Shapps. Figures released in parliament show that 450 families with dependent children or pregnant women had been in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks at the end of December 2011. This compares to 150 families at the end of December 2010.  Shapps said the vast majority of local authorities have no families in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks but said he was “concerned” about the small number that do.  “I have written to 20 local authorities who between them account for almost 80 per cent of families in bed and breakfasts for more than six weeks, reiterating the government’s position that this practice is unacceptable," he said.  "I am urging them to prioritise elimination of the use of long-term bed and breakfast accommodation for families, and offering support from my department to do so.”  Read more on the Children and Young People Now website.