Government must tackle temporary accommodation crisis, say MPs

A group of MPs has described the number of children in temporary accommodation as "shameful".

The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has produced a report 'England's Homeless Children: The crisis in temporary accommodation'.

The group, made up of MPs from different political parties, highlighted some of the poor conditions children are living in and outlined what they want the government and councils to do to tackle it.

Temporary accommodation is a form of homelessness.

It is short-term accommodation for people who are waiting for a longer term place to live.

It includes people living in hostels or bed and breakfasts, also known as B&Bs.

A government spokesperson said "the government is investing nearly £1 billion in homelessness services this year", as well as "developing a long-term strategy to tackle homelessness".

Figures released last month showed there were just over 164,000 children living in temporary accommodation in England.

The committee said many of these children are "living in appalling conditions, with significant impacts to their health and education".

Florence Eshalomi, chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee said: "It is utterly shameful that so many families are living in B&Bs, bedsits and hotels that are completely unsuitable to their needs, having to travel for hours simply to get to school or work."

In the Newsround Special on homelessness, No Place to Call Home, released in May 2024, we heard from Alice, who had moved home five times in less than a year.

In the programme, she described the conditions in one of the B&Bs where she had lived: "There was mould on the walls, the walls were damp. I would have to share a bed with my mum."

Alice told Newsround she had panic attacks because she didn't have anywhere else to go.

Conditions in some temporary accommodation include damp and mould (stock photo)

The report gave a number of recommendations for the government and councils.

* Councils in England must inspect the conditions of temporary accommodation used to house families.

Currently many councils do not carry out regular inspections of the conditions of temporary accommodation used to house families, which the report states is "unacceptable".

* The government to make a system that alerts a child's school and their GP when they move into temporary accommodation.

The committee said because schools and GPs often don't know what children in their care are going through, they are unable to give extra support and help.

* A council must try to give people in accommodation in their area, but due to the demand for temporary accommodation sometimes councils place people in other areas - away from their schools, friends and family.

The Local Government Association, which represents most of the councils in England, said councils try to place homeless families in their home area.

"Sometimes the decision is made to do an out of area placement, due to availability of housing stock or other factors," it said.

Shanequa spoke to Alice who was living in temporary accommodation as part of the Newsround special No Place called Home

Alice, who spoke to Newsround last year for the special programme on homelessness, said because her temporary accommodation is far from where she used to live she has to get up very early to get to school on time.

She also said she missed out on some activities.

"I can't do after school clubs because it would take too much time to go there and back," she said.

The committee heard of cases which included a family from North London being placed in North Manchester about 200 miles away, and a family from Oldham in Greater Manchester being placed in Hastings - a seaside town in East Sussex.

The MPs also called on the government to require councils to inform the host council - where people are being moved to - before they make an 'out of area' placement.

Currently the requirement is that the council informs the host council only after the placement is made.