The need for more cheap housing for rent has been highlighted by figures showing more Bradford families are living in temporary accommodation, it has been claimed.

The Liberal Democrats, who published the figures, accused the Government of letting down thousands of families without a permanent roof over their heads. Last year, 83 households in Bradford were classed as living in temporary accommodation - bed and breakfasts, bedsits or hostels used for emergency shelter for homeless households. That compared with 64 in 2005-06.

Since 1997 numbers have fluctuated from 82 with a high of 95 in 200/01. The lowest number was 40 families living in the temporary accommodation in 2002/03.

The latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show Leeds has 548 families in temporary accommodation, Kirklees 203, Wakefield 94 and Calderdale 53.

Nationally, the number of households in temporary accommodation doubled between 1997 and 2007.

Julia Goldsworthy, the party's Communities spokesman, said the problem had been caused in part by a ten per cent fall in the amount of available social housing since Labour came to power.