The government has released new figures today on
homelessness, following the introduction of the Homelessness
Reduction Act earlier this year. The new figures
show:
· The
number of homeless children living in temporary accommodation in
England has reached 123,630 – an increase of almost 3,000 in the
last year, and the highest figure in 11 years.
· There
are 61,480 homeless families living in temporary accommodation –
a rise of 44% in the last 5 years.
· Of
the homeless families in temporary accommodation, 6,000 are
living in emergency accommodation like B&B’s and hostels – a
20% increase over the last 5 years.
· Within
three months of the Homelessness Reduction Act being introduced,
almost 59,000 households were found to be homeless or threatened
with homelessness.
Greg Beales, campaign director at Shelter,
said: “The fact that more than
123,000 children in England will be forced to wake up homeless
this Christmas is a tragedy. A cramped room in an emergency
B&B or hostel is no place for a child to live.
“This is now a national emergency. Every day we hear horror
stories about homeless families faced with dirty, cold, and even
rat-infested hostels. Whole families forced to share one room and
even beds, and children too scared to leave their block to use
the communal bathrooms during the night.
“Shelter’s helpline is open 365 days a year, and our
advisers will continue to work tirelessly to help more families
fighting homelessness. But we cannot do this
alone. That’s why we’re asking the public to act today
by donating to our urgent appeal.”
