Government agrees on need to eliminate use of B&Bs as temporary accommodation but warns against simply moving families “into other poor-quality alternatives”

Its comments came in response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee calling for faster Government action on conditions in temporary accommodation,

The committee had highlighted amongst other things the need to prioritise eliminating use of B&B accommodation that is unlawful by the end of the Parliament.

In its response, the Government said: “First and foremost, we must continue to prioritise eliminating the use of B&B accommodation where essential facilities, such as kitchens and/or bathrooms, are shared.

“The increased risks around safeguarding where this sort of shared accommodation is used, and particularly where local authorities do not have control of the accommodation and families may be sharing accommodation with individuals with complex needs, are unacceptable.

“That is why we set a national target to eliminate this, other than for very short-term use in emergencies.”

It added that the latest quarterly statistics (September – December 2025) had shown that government and councils had continued to show "significant progress" in reducing the number of families in bed and breakfast accommodation beyond the six-week limit, as well as families in bed and breakfast overall (“both down 60% from the same time last year”).

“However, we must not move families out of B&B into other poor-quality alternatives. We will use our expanded £30m Emergency Accommodation Reduction Programme to address a range of poor practice. In year 1, the vast majority of the £10m funding will be targeted on B&B use, as with the successful Pilots 25/26. Alongside this focus on B&B, we will test approaches to improve quality more widely. We will look to expand this in the second and third year of funding, to have the strongest positive impact on children in temporary accommodation.”

The Government also highlighted Royal Assent being granted to two Bills.

“The Renters’ Rights Act has reformed the private rented sector by banning Section 21 evictions and improving security for tenants, which will play an important role in reducing the risk of homelessness. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act will strengthen councils’ statutory duties to better support care leavers and prevent homelessness and introduce a single unique identifier for children nationally to help improve information sharing and safeguarding. The Act will also introduce a new duty on local housing authorities to notify health and education bodies when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, to improve partnership working and unlock appropriate support.”

The response pointed as well to the new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme which is intended to kickstart social and affordable housebuilding at scale across the country.

This new programme aims to maximise supply – particularly of Social Rent homes, with a target to deliver at least 60% of the homes under the programme as Social Rent.

“This objective ensures we are prioritising delivery of the most affordable homes to help hard working families and lift children out of poverty and homelessness.”

Harry Rodd