Communities and Local Government
A selection of images representing communities.
Direct contact 020 7944 4400- contactus@communities.gov.uk
- Housing
- Families with babies and young children placed in temporary accommodation
Archived content
You are viewing archived content. If you believe this content has been archived in error, or you regularly access this content, please contact us to let us know.
Families with babies and young children placed in temporary accommodation
The Government has announced specific measures to reduce the use of Bed and Breakfast hotels for families with children. This notice provides new guidance for local authorities to ensure that all babies and young children placed in B&B hotels or other forms of temporary accommodation as a discharge of a homelessness duty have the opportunity to receive health and developmental checks from health visitors and/or other primary health care professionals. This is in response to Housing Minister Sally Keeble's concerns that vulnerable infants living in temporary accommodation may miss out on important health checks if proper arrangements are not put in place.
The Secretary of State considers all local housing authorities should notify the appropriate Primary Care Trust of all families with babies or young children who are placed in temporary accommodation as a discharge of a duty under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996, as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002). He considers it would be insufficient for an authority to simply provide such a family with details of health centres in the area.
He also considers it crucial that local authorities establish good collaborative working relationships with the appropriate health services, and agree policies and procedures which ensure that arrangements are in place for families with babies and children in temporary accommodation to be visited by health visitors. He urges all local housing authorities to review their current procedures and ensure that access to health services is available to such families. Robust systems should be set in place, and monitored, to ensure that such notifications are made. Notifications will be particularly important in cases where a family with a baby or young child is placed in temporary accommodation in another local authority district. Any change of address, for example where families are moved into alternative temporary accommodation, should also be notified promptly.
For further information please e-mail on homelessness@communities.gsi.gov.uk
