More children in Luton living in temporary accommodation – as number keeps increasing across England

Homelessness charity Shelter called on the Government to unlock "urgent investment" in the upcoming spending review to tackle the national housing crisis.

It comes as separate analysis from the charity found 206,000 children in England could be living in temporary housing by 2029 – a 26 per cent increase on current figures.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government figures show 2,194 homeless children in Luton were living in temporary accommodation as of December. It was up from 1,973 the previous year.

In England, 81,060 households with 165,510 dependent children were living in temporary accommodation at the end of last year – both the highest figures since records began in 2019.

The number of families living in temporary homes was only up 0.7 per cent from September, but showed a 13.7 per cent increase from December 2023.

Living in temporary accommodation means being provided short-term housing by a local authority, including bed and breakfast hotels, hostels or privately rented accommodation. It is considered a form of homelessness.

Mairi MacRae, director of campaigns and policy at Shelter, said the housing crisis "has reached critical levels".

She added homelessness will continue to soar and local authorities will risk bankruptcy if no significant investment is unlocked.

Dan Wilson Craw, deputy chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, said: "Behind every statistic are thousands of stories of people facing some of the most stressful, traumatic and insecure times of their lives.

"More and more children are spending their formative years trapped living in temporary accommodation, often in overcrowded and unsafe conditions and at huge cost to local authorities.

"This is a national scandal that demands government action."

He welcomed the national house building plan, but called on the Government to address soaring rent prices and unlock Local Housing Allowance for those on lower incomes.

An MHCLG spokesperson said: "Through our Plan for Change we’re taking urgent action to fix the broken system we inherited, investing nearly £1 billion in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation.

"Alongside this, we are developing a long-term strategy to tackle homelessness, driving up housing standards and delivering the biggest boost in social and affordable homes in a generation."