https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/national-disgrace-children-living-temporary-accommodation-hits-record-high

Chancellor urged to unfreeze housing benefit and publish government’s long-delayed homelessness strategy as figures show  more than 172,000 children are growing up in temporary accommodation

A NEW record high of more than 172,000 children are living in temporary accommodation in England, almost enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice over, new government figures revealed today.

Official data shows numbers have risen in each quarter since 2021, reaching 132,410 households in temporary accommodation as of the end of June.

This is up 1.2 per cent from the previous three-month period and 7.6 per cent from the same time last year.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said 84,240 of those households included children.

Separate government data showed 8,732 people were sleeping rough in England in June, up from 8,309 a year earlier.

Campaigners are urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to unfreeze housing benefit in next month’s Budget and to publish the government’s long-delayed homelessness strategy.

Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said: “Tragically, we have now become totally accustomed to seeing record levels of children growing up in temporary accommodation. 

“So we have to ask, as living costs increase and the supply of social homes recedes, when this will end?”

He said raising housing benefit “would enable more people and families to stay in their homes” and called for “a new generation of social homes” to help families “escape poverty and see a brighter future.”

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One in five families trapped in temporary accommodation for over five years, new figures show

New figures released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that one in five families with children living in temporary accommodation in England, and one in three in London, have been there for five years or longer.

The data shows a record 172,420 children are now living in temporary accommodation. Much of this housing is overcrowded and lacks basic facilities such as kitchens and laundry access.

Campaigners warn that these conditions have serious impacts on children’s health and wellbeing, with at least 74 child deaths linked to temporary accommodation over the past five years.

Housing groups say rising rents are trapping families in temporary accommodation, as Local Housing Allowance has failed to keep pace with the private rental market.

ONS data shows that average private rents have risen by 8.5% since April 2024, when housing benefit rates were last updated.

The shortfall is placing severe pressure on local councils, which are spending millions each year either on temporary accommodation itself or incentive payments to landlords to take on homeless tenants.

London Councils has warned that several boroughs are at risk of bankruptcy due to escalating costs.

Tom Darling, director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “The fact that one in five homeless families have been trapped in temporary accommodation for five years or more is a moral stain on society.

“TA barely merits the term accommodation. Cramped, unhealthy and lacking facilities, it is totally unsuitable for families with children, particularly for long periods of time.”

He added: “The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver welcome protections for tenants, but it will not address the affordability crisis that is keeping families trapped in homelessness and pushing councils to the brink of bankruptcy.

“The Government must cap rent increases to stop rents from outpacing wages or inflation, and in the longer term we need a National Affordable Renting Commission to make renting genuinely affordable.”

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