WIREDGOV

Responding to Shelter's report on homeless families in bed and breakfast accommodation, Cllr Mike Jones, Chairman of the LGA's Environment and Housing Board, said:

"Local authorities work hard to find appropriate accommodation for people who have lost their homes, and the needs of families with children will always be a priority.

"No council ever wants to place a family in bed and breakfast accommodation but, with growing demand for help and a chronic shortage of affordable housing, this is sometimes the only option available to keep a family together with a roof over their heads.

"Shelter's report highlights exactly why house building needs to be a national priority. Government's efforts to increase house building must ensure that new affordable housing is built as part of developments. Councils could make a significant contribution if the Treasury lifted the housing borrowing cap which would enable local authorities to build up to 60,000 additional new homes over the next five years.

"Government's welfare reforms will mean more people turning to their council for housing support. With more than 4 million people on council housing waiting lists and not enough homes to go around, action needs to be taken now to get more new affordable homes built."

Contact

Simon Ward
Local Government Association Media Office
Telephone: 020 7664 3333