THE number of homeless families placed in emergency bed and breakfast accommodation has crept up in parts of the region – with warnings of a further rise on the way.

More temporary accommodation was required at the start of this year in County Durham, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, with the highest number in Stockton.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) said short-stop B&Bs – where a family can be forced to share a single room – caused “huge disruption to daily routines of school and work”.

It warned the problem was likely to grow next year if a looming benefits cap forces homeless families out of leased houses or flats, and called on ministers to clear up the uncertainty.

NHF chief executive David Orr said: “In a B&B, whole families can find themselves sharing one room and they are often shut out of their accommodation during the day.

“Every child deserves a decent home to come back to after school, where they feel secure, and where they can sit down to do their homework.

“That is what temporary accommodation provides.”

The number of families placed in emergency B&Bs in Stockton doubled in the first quarter of this year, compared with one year earlier – from 11 to 22.

More families were also affected in County Durham (up five), Middlesbrough (up three) and Redcar and Cleveland (up two), the figures showed.

However, no families were affected in Darlington or Hartlepool in the first three months of this year and the numbers fell, or were stable, across Tyne and Wear.

The use of emergency B&Bs is virtually unknown across North Yorkshire, with the exception of the seaside resort of Scarborough – where numbers rose sharply, from 33 to 50 families.

The NHF said that, across the country, 26,000 homeless families lived in more stable and secure houses or flats, leased by local authorities and housing associations.

But, from April next year, the new benefits cap will limit the amount any family can claim to £500 a week – potentially forcing some out of flats or houses, which are more expensive to rent and manage, and into B&Bs.

The NHF urged the Government to clear up how the benefit cap will affect people living in temporary accommodation and what measures will be taken to protect the service.

Across England, between January and March last year, there were 3,960 families living in B&Bs – up 44 per cent on a year earlier – with the largest numbers in London.

Housing Minister Mark Prisk said: “We have some of the strongest protections in the world to safeguard people from homelessness and levels remains lower than in 28 of the past 30 years.

“Councils have a range of options at their disposal to help anyone facing the threat of losing their home, and to help them further we have increased the discretionary housing pot to about £400m over the spending period to help families with the transition to the new, fairer, system of benefits.”