Highest level of homeless children since 2011
- 03 Nov
Figures reveal that the number of children living in temporary accommodation in Britain is at a three year high.
Homelessness charity Shelter, have found that over 90,000 children in the UK are without a permanent home, reports the BBC.
The charity's chief executive Campbell Robb said the "heart-breaking" figures suggest the equivalent of three children in every school are homeless.
Calculations by the charity suggest that in the second quarter of 2014 there were 90,569 children living in temporary accommodation in the UK. The equivalent figure for 2011 was 76,650 which suggests a rise of 13.9191 children without a permanent home.
The researchers were particularly disturbed to find that in June 2014 some 2,130 families in England were living in bed and breakfast hotels, almost double the figure for the same period in 2011 when the figure was 1,210.
"In the 21st century it cannot be right that homeless children are experiencing severe emotional distress, facing three hour round trips to school and having to eat their dinner on the floor," said Mr Robb. "Our advisers will be working tirelessly to support people who find themselves homeless this Christmas but it's getting harder and harder for us to be there for every family that needs us."
England's Local Government Minister Kris Hopkins said the government had set aside over £500m "to help the most vulnerable" and had "kept strong protections to guard families against the threat of homelessness".
"This is to ensure we don't return to the bad old days when homelessness in England was nearly double what it is today," he said.
"Councils have a responsibility to move homeless households into settled accommodation as quickly as possible and we have changed the law so that they can place families in decent and affordable private rented homes. All this has meant statutory homelessness remains lower than in 27 of the last 30 years."
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