Housing, Communities and Local Government
(Limited Text - Ministerial Extracts only)
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Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)
This is deeply personal to me because I was one of those children, 34 years ago, sat on a double mattress in a room doing my GCSE revision and my coursework, and then having to sleep next to my mum and sister in a room while all that was going on. That is why today is so remarkably important, and why I am so proud to stand here and hear that we are going to do something about this. I can tell this House that when that happens to you, you feel alone, you feel isolated, you feel that no one cares, and your dignity and self-respect sits in somebody else’s hands. There are thousands of children out there today living in cramped B&Bs. I am so glad that the Labour Government will end that unlawful practice and protect those families from being placed in those unsafe, unsuitable conditions. Something that is massively important for me is my patience, but on this issue it runs out all the time. What is the timeline to stop that happening to those children in B&Bs?
Alison McGovern
I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. Children who are stuck in inappropriate B&Bs should know that they have a champion in this House, they should know that there is someone who has been there too, and they should know that they are not alone. On the timeline for getting kids out of B&Bs, we will end the use of B&B accommodation by the end of the Parliament in all but the most extreme cases—an absolute emergency. It is already the law—it has been for 20 years—that children are not supposed to be in B&Bs for more than six weeks. What on Earth is going on in this country when there are 2,000 children in such a situation? Let us work together, let us do something about it and let us bring those numbers down very quickly.
[Official Report, 11 December 2025; Vol. 777, c. 528.]
Written correction submitted by the Minister for Local Government and Homelessness, the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Alison McGovern):
Alison McGovern
I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. Children who are stuck in inappropriate B&Bs should know that they have a champion in this House, they should know that there is someone who has been there too, and they should know that they are not alone. On the timeline for getting kids out of B&Bs, we will end the use of B&B accommodation by the end of the Parliament in all but the most extreme cases—an absolute emergency. It is already the law—it has been for 20 years—that children are not supposed to be in B&Bs for more than six weeks. What on Earth is going on in this country when there are 2,000 families with children in such a situation? Let us work together, let us do something about it and let us bring those numbers down very quickly.