Separate Government statistics show that 44,370 London families are homeless -- almost 6,500 more tha

Town halls are spending vastly more on emergency accommodation to keep parents and children off the streets than since the Coalition came to power, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Separate Government statistics show that 44,370 London families are homeless — almost 6,500 more than 2010 — and councils are struggling to maintain their legal duty to provide shelter. Charities say homelessness is increasing because housing benefit caps mean families cannot cover rising rents charged by private landlords.
The FoI figures show that between 2010/11 and 2013/14, Westminster council almost doubled expenditure on temporary accommodation, to £40.25 million, and the number of homeless households rose by almost 500 to 2,366.
Charity Z2K said among those evicted was a cleaner, his disabled wife and their children, who had to leave their Queen’s Park flat after their housing travels in europe benefit was cut. They were put in a B B. Westminster also spent £475 a night on a two-bedroom suite for another family. Among other boroughs:
Joanna Kennedy, of Z2K, said: “These figures reveal how counterproductive the housing benefit cap has been.” Communities Minister Kris Hopkins said: “The law is clear that the accommodation should be used only in an emergency, and then for no longer than six weeks.”
A London Councils spokesman said: “Boroughs travels in europe are digging into very stretched resources to deal with the sharp-end of the escalating housing crisis, which, alongside government welfare changes, is creating a double whammy for many Londoners.
“Boroughs are working flat out to find suitable accommodation for people and reduce the numbers in temporary accommodation, but in the face of the sheer scale of the housing shortage, need real support from government to manage this.”