Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
1st Report - England’s Homeless Children: The crisis in temporary accommodation
Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
HC 338
Published 3 April 2025
Recommendations
23
Accepted
Extend support for local authorities to acquire temporary accommodation, including empty affordable homes.
Recommendation
Local authority owned housing for temporary accommodation is a more cost-efficient means of providing higher quality temporary accommodation for families in the long term. It is unacceptable that some affordable homes are currently sitting empty while families are stuck in …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation, increasing the Local Authority Housing Fund by £50 million to £500 million to help local authorities acquire temporary accommodation, including empty affordable homes, within their areas, and committed to publishing the Future Homes Standard to address environmental requirements.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Conclusions (4)
1
Conclusion
Accepted
The appalling conditions in some temporary accommodation in England are utterly shameful. We are concerned that issues of poor-quality temporary accommodation continue to persist, even though it is now over five years since the then Children’s Commissioner described these conditions as “simply inappropriate places for a child to be growing …
Government Response Summary
The government is taking action through the Renters’ Rights Bill to introduce powers to apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, with the intention of bringing temporary accommodation within its scope, subject to consultation on implementation details and appropriate enforcement mechanisms.
4
Conclusion
Accepted
The shortage of social housing in England has led local authorities to rely on using B&Bs and other accommodation with shared facilities as temporary accommodation, which are inappropriate and potentially unsafe environments for children to grow up in. The Government already requires that families are only housed in B&Bs as …
Government Response Summary
The government clarified that certain hostels are covered by the B&B definition in legislation and reiterated its stance that privately managed shared accommodation is generally unsuitable for families, though good quality shared facilities can serve as a stepping stone.
9
Conclusion
Accepted
Out-of-area temporary accommodation placements have a devastating impact on families, leaving them far from their extended family, friends, and support network, and causing disruption to children’s education. There is a lack of reliable data on how out-of-area placements are currently used, as local authorities are not required to report detailed …
Government Response Summary
The government stated it has laid provision in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to introduce a single unique identifier (SUI) nationally to improve information sharing, and is considering further policy options across departments to improve the lives of children in temporary accommodation.
15
Conclusion
Accepted
It is essential that the strategy to end homelessness has buy-in across all government departments and local authorities, and so we welcome the creation of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping to bring about this collaboration. It is vital that all invited government departments engage fully in the …
Government Response Summary
The government highlighted existing and increased funding for housing support, Local Housing Allowance, the Household Support Fund, Discretionary Housing Payments, and the Homelessness Prevention Grant, stating these measures contribute to preventing homelessness.