Over 120,000 Schoolchildren Homeless During Summer Holidays

Summer holidays used to be every school-kid’s highlight of the year – long sunny days, trips to the seaside, or even holidays abroad – but not any more for so many children.

The number of homeless children in the UK is at a record high of 123,000, according to the Government’s latest figures – a rise of 76% since 2011. Almost 80,000 families in England were in temporary accommodation during the first quarter of 2018, which is the highest figure for a decade.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said the figures underlined the need for both welfare reform and the flexibility for councils to borrow money to fund home-building programmes. Judith Blake, the LGA’s housing spokeswoman, said: “For too many families, it (the summer holiday) 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. 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.”

Although council leaders say the Government’s recent Rough Sleeping Strategy is a positive first step, they are urging ministers to go further to prevent homelessness for all groups, including families and their children. It comes as figures from the government revealed councils in England have increased spending on children’s social care by 4.3%, a rise of £8.8 billion on the previous year.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokeswoman said: “All children deserve a safe and decent place to live and we are providing more than £1.2 billion so those who are homeless get the support they need. Councils have a duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation to those who need it, and families with children get priority. So families can get a permanent home, we are investing £9 billion in affordable properties, including £2 billion for social rent housing.”