Homeless summer holidays for 123,000 children

The numbers of homeless children that councils are housing in temporary accommodation has increased by 76 per cent in the last seven years.

According to the Local Government Association, councils have been housing an additional 650 homeless children every month, and are now urging the government to adapt welfare reforms and allow councils to borrow to build new homes, with the right infrastructure, to tackle the housing shortage which is the root cause of our homelessness crisis.

Faced with an almost £8 billion funding gap by 2025, councils warn that the net cost of providing temporary accommodation is drastically increasing, with more families struggling to meet the cost of housing.

Judith Blake, the LGA’s Housing spokesperson, said: “The summer holidays are supposed to be magical times for children. It’s a chance to be with friends and family and create memories that can last a lifetime. For too many families, it has been a miserable existence, living in inappropriate conditions as they experience the sharp end of our national housing shortage.

“Councils are currently housing almost 123,000 children experiencing homelessness, which not only has hugely negative impact on their young lives but creates an unsustainable position for local councils, as they experience spiralling housing costs without the tools and resources to deliver the homes their residents need. It’s crucial that we take the serious measures that are needed to get towards our collective ambition to end homelessness outright. The government needs to ensure all councils are able to borrow to build the new homes that are needed to address our housing shortage, and adapt welfare reforms to prevent people from losing their home where possible.”