Councillors have vowed to continue to reduce the number of homeless families in Southend.
The Government awarded Southend Council £88,675 to reach the target of 40 families in bed and breakfast by March this year.
Officers managed to surpass this figure by having only 38 families in B&B accommodation.
The eventual target is to reduce the use of bed and breakfast for the temporary placement of homeless families by next March to zero.
To achieve this, radical plans include offering landlords £2,000 grants to house a homeless family for a year.
The move forms part of a blueprint to end reliance on bed and breakfast accommodation like the Palace Hotel on Pier Hill, Southend.
The council is also pumping £400,000 into a new initiative in which tenants are paid a grant to move into accommodation and buy the property.
At yesterday's cabinet meeting, Gwen Horrigan, executive councillor for housing, said: "We have surpassed the Government's target but we depend on continual support from the Government."
Southend's cabinet was told that the £183,000 Government cash will continue funding a specialist homelessness team until next March.
Published Wednesday, May 21, 2003
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