Children at risk of homelessness on the rise, figures show

The number of homeless children living in temporary accommodation in Slough has gone up according to government figures

The number of homeless children living in temporary accommodation is going up, figures have revealed.

Government statistics found 1,285 children were living in temporary council accommodation between January and March.

Slough Borough Council has been given the figures, which show an increase of 474 children, compared to the same time period in 2023.

It comes after the authority committed to spending an extra £1.4m on housing in 2024.

Figures also revealed an estimated 23 families with children were living in bed and breakfasts or shared annexes at the start of 2024 - compared to two families the year before.

There were also 326 families in nightly paid, privately managed and self-contained accommodation, up from 38 the previous year.

The families had been placed in these types of accommodation by Slough Borough Council to avoid homelessness.

Council leader Dexter Smith said these figures were a result of the previous leading party not allocating enough funds to combat homelessness in Slough.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the authority has so far spent almost £6m more than it planned to on homelessness services in 2023.

In June Mr Smith told the council: “In the case of temporary accommodation we only had enough for 17 families – we had 700 on the books.”