Record number of families living in temporary accommodation - see your area
A record number of families are living in temporary accommodation, government figures have revealed - prompting criticism of "empty words" from No10 by housing campaigners.
A total of 104,510 households in England were in temporary housing at the end of March this year, according to data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. That’s up from 101,300 in December, and is the highest number on record.
Almost 65,000 of those households have dependent children, leaving a total of 131,370 kids without a permanent home, which is also the highest it has ever been. The number of households living in temporary accommodation has more than doubled from the 50,400 recorded in 2010 when the Conservative-led coalition came to power.
A total of 3,930 households with children were living in bed and breakfasts. Some 1,840 of those had been in the B&B for more than six weeks. That’s more than double the 1,700 households living in B&Bs at the same time last year, and almost triple the 670 who had been there for over more than weeks.
Meanwhile, there were 3,020 households with children living in hostels, reception centres, emergency units and refuges. That’s up from 2,780 at the same point last year.
London made up for more than half of the households living in temporary accommodation.
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Some 60,040 households in the capital didn’t have a permanent home compared to 44,460 in the rest of England. A total of 76,970 children in London were without a permanent home, compared to 54,400 elsewhere.
Birmingham has the highest number of households in temporary accommodation of any local authority in the country. A total of 4,327 households there didn't have a permanent home at the end of March. That includes 9,078 children, which is also the highest number of any local authority.
However, when you compare the figures to the local population, it's Redbridge which has the biggest issue. There are 26.73 homeless households for every 1,000 households in the London borough.
Last year Newham topped the list at 48.3 households per 1,000. However, there are no figures available for Newham this March. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “With record numbers of people becoming homeless, the time for empty words on building social homes and overdue promises on ending no fault evictions has long past.
“No-fault evictions are fuelling homelessness and throwing thousands of families’ lives into turmoil. We need decisive action, not lip service, before this crisis gets even worse. When MPs return from their summer break in September, the Renters Reform Bill needs to come back with them, and it must be made law at the earliest opportunity. But to end homelessness for good, we need genuinely affordable homes.
“The Secretary of State, Michael Gove, agrees social homes are essential to solving the housing emergency, so it's time for his government to get on and build them."
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