B and B - The Real Scandal 'They're paying £250 a week for me to live in a room I wouldn't give them threepence for.'
The government says hotels should be used only as a last resort, but for Clare and her daughter, and the thousands of other homeless families put up in bed-and-breakfast accommodation, London's inner city councils will this year pay out more than E40 million.
'You're in a prison, and you don't know when your time's up.'
Parents and children alike are suffering months, even years, in cramped, unhealthy and often dangerous conditions.
The councils' directors of housing now say they are powerless to stem the rising tide of homelessness. They say the real scandal is central government's unwillingness to co-operate and stop this suffering.
What is happening in London's homeless hotels, and why are the councils powerless to act?
Photography JOHN RECORD Film editor PETER PARNHAM Director STEVE CONNELLY Producer JEREMY GIBSON
This film is made with the directors of housing on behalf of the Association of London Authorities, with the help of the BBC Community Programme Unit.