The LGA (reported in 24 Housing) have shown councils in England are now providing temporary housing for over 120,500 children – a figure it says is ‘unsustainable’.
The government said the figures were a worry but still below the peak of 2006.
The Department for Communities and Local Government, covering January to March 2017, said there was a net increase of 32,650 (37%) since the second quarter of 2014 – an average of 906 extra children every month.
Temporary accommodation varies and could be a self-contained flat or a room in an emergency hostel or B&B, and most families (74%) stay in one place for more than a year before being re-housed.
There is a six-week legal limit on families living in B&B rooms, although from January to March, 1,290 families spent more time than this due to housing shortages.