Over 4,500 primary school classes worth of homeless children are
spending the summer holidays in temporary accommodation amid a
national shortage of affordable housing, the Local Government
Association warns today.
Latest figures for England show there are 119,840 children living
in temporary accommodation, including 1,700 households with
children in bed and breakfasts.
The LGA said the number of children who will be spending the
summer holidays in temporary accommodation reinforces the urgent
need to ensure building of more affordable homes to rent and has
set out a plan of further action the Government can take to
prevent further homelessness.
It says this is crucial to prevent further disruption to
children’s schooling, home lives and social lives, which have
already been significantly impacted as a result of the pandemic
and subsequent lockdowns.
There are also concerns around the rising cost of living and the
potential for an increase in the number of homeless
presentations, which will likely include more children.
Cllr David Renard, LGA housing spokesperson, said:
“Living in temporary accommodation can cause great disruption for
children and families. After two years of disruption to our
children’s education and social development, it is crucial we
make addressing the chronic housing shortage a priority.
“As well as looking to find suitable housing for those already
homeless, we also must ensure everything possible is being done
to combat the rising cost of living and prevent further
homelessness, which will inevitably lead to more children in
temporary accommodation.
“We have identified eight points to give councils a better chance
of being able to help homeless children to find permanent
accommodation and minimise the risk of other households becoming
homeless as a result of the rising cost of living.
“This includes ensuring the welfare system is able to support
families facing hardship and increasing the housing supply
available to councils, as well as powers for councils to acquire
empty properties and build much-needed social housing.
“The Government’s upcoming cross-departmental rough sleeping
strategy must also look at wider homelessness issues, including
family homelessness, and consider the impact the cost-of-living
crisis is expected to have on homelessness services.”
Notes to editors
The LGA, which represents councils, is calling for a package of
measures including:
- Powers for councils to acquire empty homes, including making
it easier to use Compulsory Purchase Order powers to buy
properties and help move households on from temporary
accommodation.
- Ensuring sufficient protection through the mainstream
benefits system. This includes restoring and retaining the
LHA rate at the lowest third of market rents and ensuring that
Universal Credit and other key benefits are uprated in line with
rising inflation.
- A review of the impact and effectiveness of welfare reforms
that were introduced before the pandemic, in particular the
household benefit cap.
- Ensuring that councils have enough resources to support
households at risk of homelessness. The Household Support Fund is
enabling councils to provide some much-needed crisis support, but
the short-term, prescriptive nature of the funding makes it hard
for councils to offer genuine and sustainable support.
- Urgently reviewing the funding and use of Discretionary
Housing Payment to ensure that councils can use it to restore
financial stability and sustain tenancies.
- Working with councils and housing providers to strengthen
fair and effective debt management to improve support for
vulnerable households in rent arrears.
- Setting out plans to deliver a step-change in social housing
– the LGA is calling for 100,000 social homes for rent to be
delivered every year. This must include reform to the Right to
Buy scheme so councils can set discounts locally and retain 100
per cent of sales receipts.
- Bringing forward the Government’s pledge to end ‘no fault
evictions’, which will prevent more households from becoming
homeless.
On 31 March 2022, 58,910 households or 62.0% included dependent
children, with a total of 119,840 dependent children living in
temporary accommodation – Statutory homeless January
to March 2022
Number of primary school
classes equivalent calculated based on the average primary school
class size being 26.6
