Making a Difference: Supported lodgings as a housing option for young people

Local authorities and their partners are making considerable inroads into the task of meeting the Government’s target of eliminating the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds, except in an emergency and then for no more than six weeks. By 30 June 2008 the number staying in bed and breakfast had fallen from approximately 1,000 in September 2006 to 420, 160 of whom had been placed for more than six weeks. Supported lodgings services have played an important role in this in some areas, and Communities and Local Government has supported a number of new services in 2007-08.