The post you are reporting:
Courtesy Guardian.....
Costs soar as wealthy councils rehouse families in hotels and B&Bs
Bill to house the homeless in Westminster rises by 63.5% as thousands of people moved to
temporary accommodation
Hanane Toumi with her two children, Salsabile, six, and Waleed, three. Westminster city council
moved the family into temporary accommodation, first in Hackney and now, on a three-year tenancy,
to a flat in Brent, overlooking the North Circular Road. Photograph: Antonio Olmos for the Observer
The government's clampdown on benefits is forcing up, rather than cutting, the cost of housing
low-income families in wealthy areas, as people are shifted into hotels and bed and breakfasts,
according to new figures obtained for the Observer.
Charities are also reporting a chain of misery and chaos as children are forced to move schools, and
parents have to spend much of their time ferrying them large distances to classes.
Data obtained through freedom of information requests shows that at Westminster council - one of the
wealthiest areas in the country - the bill for homelessness has shot up by 63.5% since last year
as new temporary accommodation has had to be found for those hit by cuts. The figures show that it
has cost Westminster more to place thousands of people in temporary accommodation, including hotels,
than the council has saved through the government's welfare clampdown