Housing hopes for overcrowded families in London

The government has announced £30m to help cut the number of families in London living in temporary accommodation.

The money will help fund schemes like those already operating in Ealing and Newham, under which housing benefit is used to help buy homes for families instead of being wasted on rent.

The government is also consulting on options for raising the standards on overcrowding, which have not been updated for 70 years and which housing minister Yvette Cooper described as “truly shocking”.

“The only answer in the long term to address overcrowding is to build more homes, including bigger family homes,” Cooper said. “But in the meantime, we can do more for families who are in desperate housing need today.”