£100 million is to be taken from Kensington and Chelsea Council’s pension fund to purchase around 250 homes for homeless families.

The initiative is the first of its kind in Britain and will hopefully reduce the authority’s reliance on hotels, B&Bs and private properties.

Homes purchased under the new arrangement will be leased to the Council on a long-term basis.

The authority will also take responsibility for collecting rents and managing the properties.

Rental income generated by the Council is intended to cover payments to the pension fund contributions.

The Council’s payments to the pension fund will be at a discounted rate compared to if the money was borrowed commercially.