Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are being introduced to reduce the number of children in bed and breakfast, and hotel temporary accommodation.

The Government has been clear that in normal circumstances the long term use of bed and breakfast accommodation for families with children is inappropriate and if for longer than 6 weeks - unlawful.

There are some councils who are successfully reducing the number and length of time families are spending in B&B accommodation and the numbers of children in temporary accommodation; we expect areas in similar situations to follow their example.

Our new Homelessness Advice and Support Team, drawn from local authorities and the homelessness sector, are providing support to help authorities to end the placement of families in B&B accommodation for more than 6 weeks. The number of families in B&B has shown a reduction over the last published quarter, from Sept 2017 to Dec 2017. The total number of households in B&B is down 11 per cent; households with dependent children in B&B is down 24 per cent; and households with dependent children in B&B over 6 weeks is down 21 per cent.