The number of children living in temporary accommodation in England has hit an all-time high of more than 150,000, according to figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The data reveals a year-on-year increase of 15% to March 2021. Temporary accommodation can include bed and breakfasts and hostels. The increase has been described as “astounding” by Amnesty International UK. Polls suggest that many families have to rely on B&Bs for much longer than six weeks. Cramped bed and breakfast and bedsits are leaving children unable to settle and put down roots, according to Polly Neate, the CEO of housing charity Shelter.
Amnesty International UK commented that no child should face the “escapable harms” of living in such temporary accommodation and called on the UK government to ensure children are provided with safe and secure homes. The assistant director of operations at housing provider Riverside, Dave Robinson, noted that there are now more homeless children living in temporary accommodation in England than the numbers of people living in towns such as Blackpool, Ipswich and York. The chief executive at the charity Crisis, Matt Downie, said that the current situation reflected a “housing and homelessness system” that was “broken”.
The new Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary, Angela Rayner, described the situation as a “national scandal”. Highlighting crisis levels of homelessness and the country’s acute housing crisis, she noted that the UK government was taking “urgent action” to resolve the situation, including plans to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and to boost housebuilding. The LGA, which represents local councils, argued that local authorities require the “powers and resources” to tackle the wider problem of affordable housing shortages that are underlying the rise in the number of children living in temporary accommodation
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