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One in 100 children homeless and living in temporary accommodation, study shows
One in 100 children in England are homeless and living in temporary accommodation, according to new research by Shelter.
The charity’s analysis found that 26% of the parents of the 120,710 children reported their children are unhappy or depressed as a result of living in temporary accommodation, while many are forced to share beds.
Shelter expects the number of homeless children to grow as the cost-of-living crisis deepens the housing emergency.
This month, Inside Housing’s research revealed that more than 26,000 children under five are homeless and living in temporary accommodation in England.
Temporary accommodation, which can take the form of emergency hostels, B&Bs, one-room bedsits and cramped flats, is provided by councils to eligible families who become homeless.
It is not designed as permanent accommodation and families can be asked to move numerous times on short notice.
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The latest government data shows that 5,030 families are living in emergency B&Bs and hostels – widely considered the worst type of temporary accommodation.
Families are often crammed into one room and forced to share bathroom facilities with strangers.
Shelter’s study, the largest ever conducted and funded by Trust for London and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, involved more than 800 families with 1,600 children living in temporary accommodation in England.
It looked at the impact of temporary accommodation on children’s health, well-being and education.
It found that more than a third (35%) of homeless parents say their child/children do not have a bed of their own and must share with another family member.
Almost half (45%) of school-age children have arrived at school tired, late or hungry as a result of living in temporary accommodation.
B&Bs and hostels are often not equipped with suitable, or any, facilities for parents to cook meals, and noise from other residents and bed-sharing mean children often struggle to sleep.
Parents reported that just over 60% of children lack space to play in their temporary accommodation.
One in four parents (28%) said their children are finding it hard to make or keep friends as a result of living in temporary accommodation.
This can be because they are embarrassed or ashamed of where they live, because they are unable to have friends over to play due to a lack of space, or rules that forbid visitors.
Shelter said that unless the government reverses the freeze on housing benefits, thousands more families will become homeless this winter as the cost-of-living crisis worsens and rents rocket.
Before being frozen in 2016, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) covered the cheapest 30% of rents in an area.
In April 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government restored LHA rates to the cheapest 30th percentile, but they have been frozen since then and have not kept pace with inflation.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “A grotty hostel or B&B is not a home, but this is where thousands of homeless children are forced to live.
“And many more children will be thrown into homelessness as their parents can no longer afford to keep a roof over their head.”
She said the housing emergency is “robbing children of a secure childhood”.
“Something has gone very wrong when children cannot play because their temporary accommodation is too cramped even for toys, and no friends are allowed to visit.
“Shelter is doing everything it can to help the families who are trying to put on a brave face while experiencing the trauma of homelessness.
“But as the cost-of-living crisis deepens and more families need our services, we need the public’s support more than ever this Christmas,” Ms Neate added.
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