Lib Dems celebrate a year of no B+B for homeless households

4.25.56pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 16th Aug 2007

Lib Dem Judith Woodman, Cardiff's Executive Member for Communities, Housing and Social Justice

Cardiff's Liberal Democrat controlled council is celebrating the fact that it last used bed and breakfast as temporary accommodation for homeless households a year ago today, August 9 2006.

Only 12 months earlier the Council was accommodating over 100 homeless households, short-term, in B&Bs, but was already working with housing associations and the voluntary sector to provide a range of suitable alternatives to such accommodation, and to improve the procedures to access permanent housing.

Significant steps in both areas began to make a difference at the beginning of 2006. The success of such has been demonstrated by the latest figures published by the Welsh Assembly, showing that Cardiff Council is the only Welsh council with an urban population not using bed and breakfasts as temporary accommodation.

In the 12 months since last using B&B's Cardiff Council has given temporary accommodation to over 750 families and single people, the number of households temporarily accommodated by the council has been reduced by more than 100.

Cardiff Council's Executive Member for Communities Housing and Social Justice, Councillor Judith Woodman, said: "It is the aim of Cardiff Council to provide emergency and temporary accommodation to anyone who needs it. Occasionally this requires us to house people in B&B's, but we understand this is not desirable and are very happy to be celebrating a year without having to use them as a temporary measure/fallback."