The Government has released new figures showing that local councils in England spent £2.8bn on temporary accommodation for homeless households in 2024/25, a 25% increase compared with the previous year.
Spending on temporary accommodation has more than doubled over the past five years, rising 118%.
One-third of the total – £844m – was spent on emergency B&Bs and hostels, often the least suitable option for families who must share kitchens and bathrooms with strangers. A further 40%, over £1bn, went on nightly paid self-contained accommodation, marking a 79% increase in just one year. These privately managed units are frequently expensive and cramped.
Shelter is urging the Government to move beyond temporary fixes and tackle the housing crisis by delivering more social rent homes. It recommends scaling up the Social and Affordable Homes Programme to 90,000 social rent homes per year for the next decade.
John Glenton, chief care and support officer at Riverside, one of the largest providers of accommodation for people affected by homelessness in England, said: ‘In a short time, this government should be commended for cutting the number of families living in B&Bs by almost a third (30%).
‘However, if it is going to reduce homelessness, we need to see a significant and sustained increase in new social housing and dedicated ring-fenced funding spent on homelessness services and supported housing.’
