§ Q70. Mr. CorbynTo ask the Prime Minister what action she is taking to ensure that children in bed-and-breakfast hotels are living in safety and in receipt of full-time education when of school age.
§ The Prime MinisterLocal authorities have considerable powers to control safety standards of houses in480W multiple occupation, which include bed-and-breakfast hotels. These powers have recently been strengthened. Responsibility for ensuring that all children of compulsory school age receive a proper education, including those in bed-and-breakfast accommodation, rests, under the Education Acts, with parents, schools and local education authorities. The Government are concerned to reduce the need for local authorities to use unsatisfactory bed-and-breakfast hotels and are making available, over the next two years, £250 million to local authorities and housing associations in London and the south-east, specifically to get homeless families out of such accommodation and into permanent homes.