Around a quarter of households currently living in temporary accommodation have been moved away from the local authority in which they first became homeless, latest government figures have revealed.
Of the 93,490 households in temporary accommodation at the end of September last year, 25,930 (28%) were found to be living in a local authority different to the one in which they submitted a homelessness application.
The percentage of homeless households being placed in temporary accommodation outside their own council has more than doubled over the past decade, with 13% of households being placed outside of their home authority in 2011.
In June last year, the number of households living in temporary accommodation hit 98,260, the highest figure recorded since 2005.
Of the 93,490 people who currently find themselves in temporary accommodation, 15,990 (17%) are housed in B&Bs or hostels.
London
Those who appear to a council as homeless in London are more than twice as likely to be placed in temporary accommodation outside their own borough than those elsewhere in England.
Almost a third (31%) of Londoners living in temporary accommodation are placed outside of their local authority area, compared with 13% for the rest of the country.
After London, homeless people in the north-west of England are most likely to be placed in temporary accommodation outside their council area (19%), followed by the south-east (15%) and the south-west (14%).
Many London councils have increasingly resorted to placing those who approach them as homeless in accommodation outside of their local authority, citing a lack of accommodation within their own area.
A number of councils on the outskirts of London have reported an increase in the number of homeless people being placed in accommodation in their local authority area by other councils.
Image: Pressmaster/Shutterstock
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