SHOCKING figures revealed today that a record 138,930 children will spend Christmas in temporary accomodation.
The total is the highest since records began in 2004 and up from 131,500 at the end of March.
Homelessness charity Shelter’s chief executive Polly Neate said: “Today we’ve 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.”
Shadow homelessness minister Mike Amesbury MP added: “It looks like more than 100,000 children will be living in temporary accommodation this Christmas.
“This is not a vision for modern Britain.”
The latest data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) also revealed a shock 10.5 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of households in temporary accomodation.
This rose to a record 105,750 at the end of June.
Crisis chief executive Matt Downie branded the level of social homes being built “a disgrace” as other figures published today showed there were less than 9,000 new-build homes for social rent in the latest financial year.
He accused the government of a “failure to address the chronic shortage of genuinely affordable homes” and said this is having “severe and wide-ranging consequences across England.”
The data also said there was a 10.3 per cent annual rise to 6,640 households threatened with homelessness due to a Section 21 notice, also known as a no-fault eviction notice.
Ministers have long promised to ban these notices through the Renters Reform Bill. But it is currently going through Parliament without giving a firm timeframe for when they will be scrapped.
Renters’ Reform Coalition campaign manager Tom Darling said the “stark” statistics are “yet another reminder of the urgency of abolishing Section 21 evictions — which are a key driver of homelessness, as well as a source of constant insecurity for millions of tenants.”
Homeless Link chief executive Rick Henderson warned: “The cost of providing temporary accommodation is crippling local authorities across the country, to the extent that some are filing for bankruptcy and others are on the verge of going under.”
The National Housing Federation highlighted a “disparity” between rising homelessness and the delivery of new homes for social rent.
The DLUHC said it is spending £2 billion over three years “as part of a cross-government strategy to build homes for rough sleepers, give financial support for people to find a new home, and prevent evictions.”
