139,000 homeless children this Christmas is ‘shameful’
Thousands of children in England will be without a permanent home this Christmas, new government figures reveal.
Nearly 139,000 children were living in temporary accommodation between April and June this year, up from 131,500 at the end of March. Housing charities said the increase was “shocking” and urge action to end no-fault evictions, a major cause of homelessness.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “We have hit yet another shameful record in the housing emergency, with nearly 139,000 children now facing spending Christmas without a safe and secure place to call home.
“Decades of failure to build enough social homes combined with record-high private rents has resulted in more and more families being plunged into homelessness. For most this will mean months or even years in temporary accommodation, where their lives are stuffed into cardboard boxes, and they can be forced to move at the drop of a hat.”
A total of 105,750 households were in temporary accommodation at the time figures were published by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities - a new high since records began 25 years ago and an increase of 10.5 per cent compared with the end of June last year.
Overall, 64.4 per cent of households in temporary accommodation included dependent children.
Statistics also show that:
- 73,660 households were assessed as needing help from their local authority due to being homeless or threatened with homelessness
- 38,810 households were initially assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty, up 6.9 per cent from the same quarter last year
- 6,640 households threatened with homelessness had been served a no-fault eviction notice - an increase of 10.3 per cent from the same quarter last year
- 14,470 households were accepted as owed a main homelessness duty, up 19 per cent from April to June 2022
In May, the Renters Reform Bill was introduced, which would have removed the rights of landlords in England to evict tenants for no reason. Section 21 evictions have reached a seven year high according to data from the Ministry of Justice.
But a delay was announced in October to the proposed ban until after the court system is reformed.
Tom Darling, campaign manager for the Renters' Reform Coalition, said: "These figures are another reminder of the urgency of abolishing section 21 evictions, a key driver of homelessness.
"The government's recent decision to kick the can further down the road will lead to yet more misery as we approach winter with shocking levels of homelessness.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: "We are spending £2 billion over three years to build homes for rough sleepers, give financial support for people to find a new home, and prevent evictions.
"We know building more homes is also a part of the solution and we are doing so as part of our long term plan for housing.
"Our landmark Renters Reform Bill will also give tenants greater security in their home, and we recently increased the Local Housing Allowance so 1.6m low-income households will be around £800 a year better off on average next year."