B&B use for homelessness
Routine use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation for housing homeless individuals, including families with children, compromising safety.
1,785 items
5 sources
Strongest theme matches
Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
92match
#2 - Strengthen MHCLG's use of HAST advisers and support local authorities to reduce B&B reliance.
It is unacceptable that B&B accommodation is being used routinely to house people rather than as a last resort. We are alarmed at the detrimental impact that living in B&B accommodation has on people’s lives–not least on children, whose safety and wellbeing can be profoundly compromised by such living arrangements. Homelessness legislation makes it clear that B&Bs should...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
86match
#30 - Home Office competition for accommodation exacerbates local authority homelessness costs and housing pressures.
The National Audit Office reported that the increase in asylum decisions had placed greater pressure on local authorities to support refugees in finding accommodation and increased the risk of homelessness and rough sleeping.107 The previous Public Accounts Committee also raised concerns about the Home Office paying higher rates for limited rental accommodation and therefore driving up rents. The...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
81match
#13 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
We remain concerned that the definition of B&B in the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 does not prevent families being placed in similar accommodation, without any restrictions on the time local authorities can house them there. We recognise that the availability of support in council-owned or voluntary sector hostels may benefit some households and help them...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
81match
#12 - Thousands of families exceed statutory six-week B&B limit due to housing shortages.
Reflecting these concerns, the homelessness code of guidance states that local authorities should use B&Bs for households with children only as a last resort, and even then, for a maximum of six weeks. However, MHCLG told us that, as at June 2024, due to the shortage of alternative options, there were almost 6,000 families being housed in a...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
78match
#4 - Unlawful and prolonged use of B&Bs for family temporary accommodation is increasing.
The shortage of social housing in England has led local authorities to rely on using B&Bs and other accommodation with shared facilities as temporary accommodation, which are inappropriate and potentially unsafe environments for children to grow up in. The Government already requires that families are only housed in B&Bs as a “last resort”, yet there has been a...
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
77match
#14 - MHCLG requires B&B elimination plans from local authorities exceeding statutory limits.
We challenged MHCLG about what it is doing to help local authorities reduce their reliance on B&Bs. It explained that it had added a condition to the Homelessness Prevention Grant, so that it now requires any local authority with more than five families in B&B accommodation over the statutory six-week limit to work with MHCLG to agree a...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
76match
#10 - Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: housing people sleeping rough
Tackling rough sleeping on its own without addressing homelessness as a whole may even worsen other measures of homelessness, if it means only placing more people in temporary accommodation, thereby adding to the number of homeless households.29 Baroness Casey told us that, in her opinion, not only was a review of the Rough Sleeping Strategy still needed, but...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
PFD report
73match
Barrie Forster
A severe shortage of suitable accommodation for released prisoners, including Approved Premises and local authority housing, leads to homelessness or unsuitable placements, increasing supervision difficulties.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
73match
22-002-757 - Manchester City Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Miss X’s housing. Miss X could reasonably have used her right to go to court about the Council’s decision to end its homelessness duty. On
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
LGO / SPSO decision
73match
22-007-325 - Chelmsford City Council
Summary: A woman complained that the Council had unreasonably decided to end its homelessness duty in her case after she refused an offer of accommodation. But we will not investigate this matter because the woman has separate review and appeal rights she can use to dispute the Council’s decision, and we could not provide the result she wants...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
LGO / SPSO decision
73match
21-016-662 - London Borough of Lewisham
Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application and about various matters relating to the interim accommodation it provided. The Council was at fault for a significant delay in deciding her homelessness application, a failure to review whether the interim accommodation was suitable and poor communication in relation to repairs. The faults caused Miss...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
72match
#11 - Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless and the private rented sector: MHCLG’s response to Covid-19
We call on the Government to return to the spirit of the early pandemic and re- commit to Everyone In. This requires providing legal clarity for local authorities. We recommend the Government immediately issues clear guidance to local authorities stating that they can and should use their legal powers under the Local Government Act 1972 and NHS Act...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
72match
#17 - Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless and the private rented sector: MHCLG’s response to Covid-19
The Government will fail in its homelessness objectives if it continues to oversee the delivery of just a few thousand social rent homes a year. The ongoing shortage of social housing is a clear, long-term obstacle to finding suitable accommodation for people suffering homelessness, as well as forcing local authorities to spend hundreds of million pounds to house...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
70match
#1 - Home Office failures led to costly, widespread hotel use in asylum accommodation.
Instead of acting as a short-term contingency measure, the use of hotels has become a widespread and embedded part of the asylum accommodation system, increasing the cost of the asylum accommodation contracts by billions of pounds beyond the original forecast. This is the result of a series of failures by the Home Office in the design of the...
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
69match
#15 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
The ministry must require councils to report publicly on the length of time households remain in such facilities and justify any decision to keep households in these facilities beyond six-weeks. By the end of this year, the ministry must publish a clear 10-year plan to phase out the use of accommodation with shared facilities for families with children....
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
69match
#14 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
We reiterate our earlier recommendation that the ministry must amend the definition of B&B accommodation in the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 to restrict the placement of families in other types of accommodation with shared facilities to a maximum of six weeks. (Recommendation, Paragraph 51)
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
Committee recommendation
69match
#8 - Require Government strategy to end family placements in shared temporary accommodation within six weeks.
The Government’s forthcoming strategy on ending homelessness must set out a clear plan to end placements of families in temporary accommodation with shared facilities, starting by reducing and eliminating placements of over six weeks. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47) Out-of-area temporary accommodation
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
69match
21-003-779 - Brighton & Hove City Council
Summary: The Council was at fault because it did not review the suitability of Mr & Mrs X’s bed and breakfast accommodation and consider moving them to self-contained temporary accommodation. It also took far too long to make a decision on their request for a review of their bedroom needs for their Homemove social housing application. The Council...
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
69match
22-003-448 - London Borough of Ealing
Summary: Ms X complained about how the Council responded to her homelessness application. The Council was at fault for poor communication. This caused Ms X distress and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
LGO / SPSO decision
69match
22-010-466 - Birmingham City Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision Mr X did not qualify for homelessness assistance. Mr X could reasonably have used his right to go to court.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
68match
#14 - Twenty-Ninth Report - The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015
The National Audit Office report found that the Programme could bring greater value to other parts of government, for example, in reducing the numbers of people in temporary accommodation. Local authority spend on homelessness has increased 50% in real-terms from 2015–16 to 2020–21.38 London Councils highlighted particular high levels of homelessness and use of temporary accommodation in London.39...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
68match
#31 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
We remained concerned the government’s decision to freeze the Local Housing Allowance is contributing to more people being more at risk of homelessness and in need of temporary accommodation. The freeze also makes it difficult for councils to help households find a permanent home they can afford. (Conclusion, Paragraph 93) 66
Matched on
terms: homelessnes, use
Committee recommendation
66match
#9 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
We are deeply concerned about the lack of space provided to some families living in temporary accommodation and the potentially harmful effects this can have on children’s safety, wellbeing and development. The standards used to determine if homes are statutorily overcrowded are out- of-date and do not reflect the harms a lack of space can pose to children....
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
66match
#20 - Inappropriate asylum hotel use causes significant harm and impacts community cohesion.
Long stays in inappropriate hotels are often deeply harmful to the people accommodated there. Local services are left to respond to these impacts and fill the gaps where the basic needs of asylum seekers are not being met. The use of hotels has at times had a significant impact on community cohesion, which cannot be underestimated. The closure...
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
65match
25-003-851 - London Borough of Brent
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a call Mrs X made to the Council’s housing needs service out of hours and delay assessing her homelessness. The Council has already accepted fault and offered an appropriate remedy for delay assessing homelessness and responding to the complaint. It is unlikely investigation into the handling...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
65match
25-005-859 - Telford & Wrekin Council
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to end the main housing duty when Mr X was homeless. It was reasonable for Mr X to use his statutory right of appeal to the county court. It is open to him to ask the court for permission to make a late appeal.
Matched on
terms: use
NAO recommendation
65match
The effectiveness of government in tackling homelessness
We recommend that DLUHC should consider how the quality of B&B accommodation could be improved.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
65match
20-010-166 - Folkestone & Hythe District Council
Summary: The Ombudsman found fault on Mr L’s complaint about the Council’s actions when he became homeless. It failed to: consider him homeless during his initial visit; provide evidence and details of temporary accommodation offered and how it assessed suitability for a vulnerable person; show it explored with him his limits on sharing accommodation. The agreed action remedies...
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
65match
21-008-868 - London Borough of Croydon
Summary: Ms Y complained the Council placed her in unsuitable temporary accommodation, which was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council was at fault. It was also at fault for not proactively assisting Ms Y to find accommodation between July 2020 and February 2021, and not telling her it had cancelled her housing register application when it...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
65match
21-008-682 - Birmingham City Council
Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to take action about the unsuitable conditions of the temporary accommodation he lived in with his children since 2018. Mr X also complained about the length of time he was on the housing register. The Council delayed in reviewing the suitability of Mr X’s temporary accommodation and failed to act once...
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
65match
22-002-050 - London Borough of Ealing
Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council dealt with his homelessness application, housing application and need to move from his current accommodation causing distress. We have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered these matters. So have completed our investigation.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
Committee recommendation
64match
#1 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
Much of the evidence we received supports the conclusion that temporary accommodation is often so poor as to be unfit for human habitation. However, the absence of official statistics on the physical condition and quality of temporary accommodation means it is not possible to establish the prevalence and severity of poor conditions across England. The National Plan to...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
Committee recommendation
64match
#16 - Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless and the private rented sector: MHCLG’s response to Covid-19
There has been a lack of recent focus from the Government on wider homelessness, including those suffering in cramped, poor quality temporary accommodation for long periods of time during the pandemic. The Government must ensure its increased homelessness funding does not only benefit those suffering from visible homelessness.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
Committee recommendation
64match
#9 - Sixth Report - Protecting the homeless and the private rented sector: MHCLG’s response to Covid-19
There are substantial differences between a well-established severe weather emergency protocol, which provides short-term accommodation, often in night shelters or other communal spaces, and providing long-term accommodation in self-contained en-suite units with significant wraparound support. While there can be some similarities—especially the principle of ‘In for Good’—this is undermined by the different way the Government stipulates how funding...
Matched on
terms: use
PFD report
61match
Kamrul Rubel
The gym did not enforce the use of the emergency stop cord despite providing advice, raising concerns about adherence to safety protocols for gym equipment.
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
24-017-573 - London Borough of Croydon
Summary: The Council delayed acting on Miss X’s reports of disrepair in her temporary accommodation. The Council has apologised for part of the delay and made a payment to Miss X. The further delay caused Miss X a period of uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and make an additional payment to Miss X.
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
61match
#13 - MHCLG acknowledges B&B accommodation is sub-optimal but necessary for statutory duties.
MHCLG conceded that placing families in B&B accommodation is a “seriously sub-optimal” way of accommodating them. It therefore assumes that local authorities should use as little B&B accommodation as they can. However, if using B&Bs is the only way to meet statutory duties, MHCLG considers that it is value for money for local authorities to do so rather...
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
61match
#11 - Significant concerns exist regarding B&B suitability for temporary accommodation, particularly for children.
There are particular concerns about the use of B&Bs as temporary accommodation, regarding the suitability of the environment and location, safeguarding in mixed settings, and a lack of support from wider public services. Children in B&Bs often face particular challenges, such as not having the space for their physical development, and going to school hungry since B&Bs are...
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
22-000-444 - London Borough of Newham
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to rehouse Mrs X in permanent accommodation since she applied to the housing register 23 years ago. The complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us...
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
22-007-925 - London Borough of Croydon
Summary: A woman complained about the Council’s failure to provide her family with suitable accommodation. But we will not investigate this matter because the Council has now offered satisfactory housing, and we could not achieve a better outcome than that.
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
21-018-497 - London Borough of Islington
Summary: Ms X complains the Council was delayed in issuing its decision letter regarding her application for homelessness. We have concluded our investigation having made a finding of fault by the Council. The Council was delayed in issuing its decision to Ms X. Ms X had the Council’s decision overturned and was successfully placed into permanent accommodation shortly...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
23-018-474 - London Borough of Sutton
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint against Sutton Council to end its housing duty and provide the complainant with accommodation. This is because the issues subject to his complaint have been, and are currently, subject to legal proceedings in court. He will also have a further right of appeal in County Court on the conclusion of these proceedings.
Matched on
terms: use
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
23-011-217 - London Borough of Haringey
Summary: There was fault by the Council. There has been delay in carrying out a review of Mr X’s housing application banding. There was also delay in dealing with Mr X’s homelessness application and an incorrect sentence in a decision notice. Carrying out the review remedies the injustice to Mr X, along with an apology and a payment.
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
LGO / SPSO decision
61match
23-007-326 - Havant Borough Council
Summary: There was fault by the Council. There was a delay in accepting the main housing duty and in offering Mrs X temporary accommodation. A payment for the extra time in unsuitable accommodation and service improvements remedy the injustice caused. There was also a failure to document the reasons that interim accommodation was suitable, which did not cause...
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
60match
#20 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
We recommend that the Secretary of State amend the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2003 to extend the six-week limit to accommodation that cannot comply with the new Decent Homes Standard. The six-week limit should apply from the date that the new standard comes into force in 2035. The ministry also must require local authorities to report 64...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
Committee recommendation
60match
#11 - 5th Report - Housing Conditions in Temporary Accommodation
We agree with the government’s decision to prioritise eliminating the unlawful use of B&B accommodation by the end of the Parliament. The government and councils have made good progress at reducing the number of families living in B&B accommodation longer than six weeks. However, to deliver the government’s national target locally, there are risks that councils may resort...
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
60match
#14 - Forty-Ninth Report - COVID-19: housing people sleeping rough
In addition, the Department is providing around £700 million for rough sleeping and homelessness in 2020–21, with the majority of this funding distributed through local authorities.49 Before the pandemic, the Department had planned to spend £495 million in 2020–21, as announced in previous spending rounds and the 2020 Budget.50 The Department told us that, as a result of...
Matched on
terms: homelessnes
Committee recommendation
60match
#11 - Twenty-Ninth Report - The Affordable Homes Programme since 2015
We asked the Department about the number of homes designated for social rent, given social rent is the most affordable for tenants; and the type of tenure most needed. We stressed the human impact that a lack of homes for social rent has. A lack of homes forces people to live in hostels or private accommodation in which...
Matched on
terms: use
Committee recommendation
60match
#2 - Families face prolonged temporary accommodation stays amid England's severe housing crisis.
During our inquiry we have also heard that, for many families, life in temporary accommodation is far from ‘temporary’. In some cases, families spend years in temporary accommodation, stuck in limbo without the stability of permanent accommodation and knowing that their local authority may require them to move with little notice. The shortage of affordable housing across England...
Matched on
terms: use
IMB recommendation
60match
Exeter (2021)
Intensify efforts to support individuals who are at risk of homelessness on their release from prison and increase the level of expectations on local authorities and the Probation Service to improve accommodation outcomes (see 7.4).
Matched on
terms: homelessnes