Nearly 130,000 children to wake up homeless this Christmas as child homelessness reaches 10-year high

Nearly 130,000 children in Britain will wake up homeless and in temporary accommodation this Christmas as child homelessness reaches a 10-year high, new research shows.

The number of youngsters who will be spending the festive period in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs and hostels – often with a single room for the whole family and no kitchen – is up 7 per cent on last year, amounting to an additional 8,000 children, according to a report by charity Shelter.

Interviews carried out by the charity reveal a quarter of families in temporary accommodation have no access to a kitchen, with many having to eat meals on the bed or floor of their room. The vast majority live in a single room, with more than a third of parents saying they have to share a bed with their children.

One father, 28-year-old Nathan, has been homeless for three months and until recently was living in a Travelodge on the side of a motorway with his 16-month old son. With access only to a kettle for preparing meals, he said he had to put jars of baby food in the kettle in order to heat them up.

Forty-year-old Sarah*, meanwhile, explained how she was living in one room in a B&B with her husband and children, including her three-month old baby, where the family has one bed on which they sleep, play and eat.

An analysis of government figures by Shelter shows that one in every 111 children is currently homeless in the UK, with at least 140 families becoming homeless every day. In England, where the highest number of families are placed into B&Bs, 45 per cent stay beyond the six-week legal limit.

The report also lays bare the psychological turmoil experienced by families living in these cramped conditions for often long periods of time, with three-quarters of parents saying their children’s mental health had been badly affected by living in such settings. One mother said her 13-year-old daughter had become suicidal since living in the hostel.

Half of parents also reported that their children’s physical health had worsened, with incidents of bed bug infestations and broken heating causing children to fall ill. Children also talked about their school work suffering because of long journeys to school each day and having no space or quiet-time to do their homework.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, described the situation as a “national scandal”, adding: “Many of us will spend Christmas day enjoying all of the festive traditions we cherish, but sadly it’ll be a different story for the children hidden away in cramped B&Bs or hostel rooms.

“Imagine living in a noisy, strange place full of people you don’t know, and waking up exhausted from having no choice but to share a bed with your siblings or parents.”

Opposition politicians said the levels of child homelessness in Britain were “shameful”, and urged the Government to take tougher measures to tackle increasing rental costs and protect families from short notice evictions.

Labour’s shadow housing minister, Melanie Onn, said: “It is heart-breaking that 128,000 children will wake up on Christmas morning with no place to call home. The Conservative Government is failing them.

“This shames us all. Ministers must back Labour’s national plan to end this homelessness crisis.”

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for communities and local government, echoed her concerns, saying: “This child homelessness crisis is a stain on the Government’s record.

“Ministers urgently need to invest in the genuinely affordable homes our country desperately needs. We need tougher measures to tackle soaring rental costs and protect families from being evicted at short notice.”

An NSPCC spokesperson said findings exposed the “devastating” impact on children of losing a roof over their head, adding: “It’s frightening to think the anxiety felt by some children leads to them feeling ashamed, or even considering taking their own life.

“For any child struggling to cope in this situation, Childline is available, free and at any time of day or night, to help them talk through their worries.”

Responding to the findings, the Local Government Association (LGA) said councils were having to house the equivalent of an extra secondary school’s worth of homeless children in temporary accommodation every month.

Judith Blake, the LGA’s housing spokesperson, said: “It’s clear the current situation is unsustainable for councils, and disruptive for families. While the Government’s indication that it will explore ways to enable councils to build more homes is encouraging, these new homes can’t appear overnight, and the demand is urgent.

“Councils are determined to tackle homelessness, but we now need Government to support this local effort. The Government could do this by adapting welfare reforms to ensure housing remains affordable for low-income families and allowing all councils, across the country, to borrow to build new homes as part of the upcoming local government finance settlement.”

A Government spokesperson said it was “committed to breaking the homelessness cycle once and for all, and is working with Shelter and others to do this”.

He added: “We’re providing more than £1bn until 2020 to tackle the issue and are implementing the Homelessness Reduction Act – the most ambitious legislation in decades that will mean people get the support they need earlier.

“Councils have a duty to provide safe, secure and suitable temporary accommodation. This means that people are getting help now and no family is without a roof over their head this Christmas.”