UK Turns to B&Bs for Housing

The United Kingdom has spent nearly £2 billion on temporary housing for families in danger of becoming homeless.
As reported by the International Network of Street Papers (ISPN), the shortage of affordable housing has forced authorities, most commonly in London, to temporarily place families in bed and breakfasts, hostels and shelters.
According to a study conducted by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, £1.88 billion has been spent on these temporary accommodations. This money could have easily built 72,000 homes in London, but it was mismanaged and inappropriately spent.
Of those that have been rehoused, 32,643 have been moved outside of their home boroughs since 2009, and a 16 percent rise from last year to the current year has been noted as well.
This has put a strain on the outer suburbs of London. Not only have rents been raised, but schools are feeling the pressure of added children as well.
ISPN reported that Jack Dromey MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, said: ‘Ministers’ failure to get a grip on this crisis is causing misery for tens of thousands of families who are being uprooted from their local communities, friends, schools and places of work.’”
This solution to the UK’s housing crisis is not being handled appropriately and has created many more problems in its attempts to provide housing for families at risk for homelessness, the report concluded.