Exclusive: Alison McGovern makes target for end of this parliament, but figures show homelessness has jumped

The homelessness minister has pledged to end the use of bed and breakfasts as emergency housing, even as new figures show that the country’s homelessness problem has worsened since Labour came into government.

Alison McGovern said she would consider it a personal failing if people were still being placed in B&Bs by the end of this parliament as she launched the government’s three-year homelessness strategy.