HOMELESS households living in temporary accommodation in Swindon have almost doubled in the last five years.

New government figures show there were 338 households in temporary accommodation in Swindon at the end of March this year, an 87 per cent increase on the number in 2013.

However, the figures do show that all of the homeless households which had been identified as a priority case had been found some form of accommodation.

A homelessness charity has criticised the growing number of families and individuals being placed into bed and breakfasts, hostels and other temporary housing, saying it can be “sub-standard and sometimes dangerous”.

Swindon Borough Council said they used high-quality self-catering housing where possible, rather than B&Bs. The council said changes to the benefits system was behind the rise in numbers needing emergency accommodation.

Across England, there are 10,000 families for whom councils have a duty to provide housing, but no suitable accommodation had been secured. In 2013, there were 5,930.

The number of people in temporary accommodation has also risen, by 44 per cent. In England, there are now nearly 80,000 households in such lodgings.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of housing charity Crisis, said: “While we welcome steps the government has taken around preventing homelessness, today’s figures are a stark reminder that there are still far too many people who are homeless and stuck in temporary accommodation or being placed in sub-standard and sometimes dangerous B&Bs.

“Every day we see first-hand the effects of long stays in these types of accommodation - people can become isolated, with little access to vital support services, in poor conditions with nowhere to wash clothes or cook.

“No one deserves to live like this. When people do lose their homes, we need to make sure they are helped quickly into safe and secure accommodation. This means affordable houses and flats in ordinary communities.”

Of the households in temporary accommodation in Swindon in March, the majority, 211, were placed in private leased homes. Of the rest, 11 were placed in B&Bs and 116 were in local authority or housing association stock.

In the 12 months to March 2018, 113 households in Swindon were classified as homeless and a priority need. It means the council have a responsibility to find suitable accommodation for them, although councils will often help non-priority cases as well.

Priority cases include families with children, households where someone is pregnant and people aged 16 or 17. Councils can also class certain people as a priority if they are vulnerable, including victims of domestic abuse, people with mental health issues and those who have spent time in care, prison or the armed forces.

Last year, a 30-year-old mum-of-two, who did not want to be named, found herself homeless after an argument with her mother.

She praised the council's housing team, who put her up in an emergency B&B for several weeks before moving them family into a temporary flat in east Swindon: "They did everything in their power to help us."

The mum added: "We had nothing except our clothes. Our housing officer was able to obtain a washing machine and a bed, as we were lucky enough to be given a flat and a cooker, but that was it."

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We pride ourselves in working hard to find housing solutions for those in need, and using temporary accommodation is one vital way of doing that.

“We use high standard self-contained accommodation for the majority of cases and only use B&B provision for emergencies. Government guidelines state that nobody with children should remain in a B&B for more than six weeks, and we strictly adhere to that.

“The government’s statistics show that, at the end of March this year, only 11 of the 338 people given temporary accommodation were placed in B&Bs."

“While we accept that there has been an increase in the number of people being placed into temporary accommodation, it is important to note that it is predominantly due to welfare reform changes, which have led to lower income households finding it much harder to secure accommodation in the private sector.”