Synopsis
With councils across England and Wales struggling to meet the demand for emergency housing, Dispatches goes undercover to investigate the impact on homeless women attempting to get off the streets. The number of rough sleepers has risen for the sixth year in a row, of which women are a particularly exposed group. Reporter Jackie Long meets women who are escaping violence and expectant mothers searching for a home. New research in the programme reveals the dangers they face. Local authorities have a duty to offer temporary accommodation to the most vulnerable. Secret filming puts some councils to the test, examining claims that they are unable to cope and are wrongly turning women away. The government has pledged more money to councils to help the homeless but Dispatches asks whether this will be enough to solve this growing crisis.