A CASH injection to tackle homelessness could signal the end of bed and breakfast accommodation for needy families.

The Government yesterday pledged a total of £60m to help the homeless across the country and ensure that families are not forced to live in B&Bs indefinitely.

Worcester will receive a £120,000 slice of the windfall to tackle homelessness in the city, while Wychavon District Council will receive £20,000, Malvern Hills District Council £50,000 and Herefordshire Council £28,000.

Priority

Kathryn Robb, housing services manager at Worcester City Council, said that last year there were 600 who said they were homeless of which 200 were assessed as a priority.

She welcomed the cash to tackle the situation and said a portion of the £120,000 would be used to support existing schemes such as the rough sleepers project - managed between Maggs Day Centre and St Paul's Hostel in Tallow Hill - and the rent deposit guarantee scheme.

"We will also look at some additional support to increase the supply of temporary accommodation in the city," she said.

"At the moment, we're finding the situation quite challenging in that within the city there's an acute shortage of affordable accommodation."

At the end of November this year, she said there was a total of eight households living in B&Bs, of which half had been in there for at least six weeks.

Kath Smith, housing services manager at Wychavon District Council, also welcomed the cash boost.

"It's not a huge amount, but it will help," she said. "We're looking to reduce homeless cases and keep levels of rough sleeping to as close to zero as possible.

"We'll also be working to ensure B&B is not used to accommodate families, unless it's an emergency.

"At the moment, we have four households living in B&B. One of those has been there for six weeks or more and we're hoping they'll be moving to other accommodation soon."

She added that some of the money would be used to fund an advice and mediation service for young people at risk of becoming homeless.

"We're also looking at a rent deposit or bond scheme to help people access private accommodation.

"We'll be using some of the money to support access to and retention of tenancies in the private sector, so for instance, if someone needed to pay rent in advance before moving in, we could look at that."