The government has allocated additional funding towards tackling homelessness.

Local authorities will receive a share of £45 million from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister towards their existing strategies, with £15 million made available to voluntary organisations to fund their work.

"This funding is good news for local authorities and the voluntary sector and demonstrates our continued commitment to tackling and preventing homelessness," local government minister Lord Rooker said on Wednesday.

"The additional resources will support local authorities in delivering their homelessness strategies which they had to publish for the first time this year.

"The funding will also help to ensure that local authorities do not use bed and breakfast hotels for homeless families with children and will sustain achievements in reducing levels of rough sleeping."

The announcement came as the latest figures showed a fall in the number of families living in temporary accommodation.

In September, there were 1,590 families with children living in bed and breakfasts for more than six weeks, compared with 1,980 in June.

"As expected, the latest statistics show that we are tackling two of the worst manifestations of homelessness effectively - we are on target to ensure that no homeless family with children has to live in B and B, and we are successfully sustaining the rough sleeping target, which was met two years ago," added Rooker.

"However, as we predicted, overall levels of homelessness are increasing. Local authorities' homelessness reviews and strategies help to explain at a local level the reasons for the increases and their plans for addressing them.

"Local authorities now need to ensure that they deliver these plans efficiently and effectively and the money I am announcing today supports them in this work."