'Unforgivable' numbers forced into B&Bs and hostels

The number of people living in temporary accommodation in Wakefield has jumped by 50 per cent in the space of a year.
More people are being forced to live in temporary accommodation because of their personal circumstances.More people are being forced to live in temporary accommodation because of their personal circumstances.
More people are being forced to live in temporary accommodation because of their personal circumstances.

The number of people living in temporary accommodation in Wakefield has jumped by 50 per cent in the space of a year.

A total of 195 households - which includes families and single people - were being put up in flats, hostels and bed-and-breakfasts away from their own homes in September 2018.

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That represents an increase of 65 from September 2017, with a council report on the issue saying a "similar trend" was being reported across the rest of England.

The issue has been linked to rising levels of homelessness.The issue has been linked to rising levels of homelessness.
The issue has been linked to rising levels of homelessness.

The rise, which has been primarily linked to homelessness, was branded "unforgivable" by the housing charity Shelter.

Chief executive Polly Neate said: "Due to the crippling combination of expensive private rents, welfare cuts and a lack of social housing, too many people are feeling the devastating impact of homelessness.

"Our advisers see first-hand the anguish felt by parents who know at any moment their family could be uprooted and forced to move from one temporary place to the next."

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Ms Neate said that more than three million more social homes needed to be built across the UK over the next 20 years.

"Only then will struggling families have the security of a stable home they so desperately need," she added.

While most of those living in temporary accommodation are thought to be homeless, the figures also cover people forced out of their properties because of repair work and children placed into care without a foster family.

The report on the issue will go before a group of Wakefield councillors for discussion next week.

It added: "Although Wakefield's rate is below the England figure, the long-term trend shows a gradual increase in temporary accommodation numbers."