‘120,000 kids face homeless Xmas’

MORE than 120,000 children across Britain face spending this Christmas homeless and in temporary accommodation, according to analysis by Shelter.

The charity, which used Government data to make the findings, said the estimated figure was the highest since 2007 when more than 133,000 children were living in temporary accommodation by the end of March that year.

It also said that the number of families living in emergency B&B and hostel rooms had risen by a “worrying” 18% in the space of a year, standing at 7,475 by the end of June 2016.

Its report said: “The devastating results of our housing shortage are now being felt by more than 120,000 homeless children in Britain — the equivalent of four children in every school.”

Shelter also carried out interviews with 25 families currently or recently living in emergency B&B’s, hostels or sofa surfing. It said many felt their accommodation was unsafe and the worst accounts involved exposure to drug abuse, fighting and strangers sleeping in corridors. Every family interviewed lived in a single room and more than half of parents also had to share a bed with their children.

One family interviewed by Shelter was sharing a twobedroom terraced house with three other families. Many families also reported having to share toilet and bathroom facilities with other residents, according to Shelter, which has launched a Christmas appeal.

It said examples of disrepair in the accommodation families were staying in included dirty or broken mattresses and beds, as well as serious hazards such as sparking electrical sockets, mould, and windows that would not close.

Eighteen of the 25 families interviewed said their children’s mental and emotional health had been badly affected.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Fifty years since Shelter was founded, too many families still need our help. Almost daily we hear from parents desperate to escape the single cramped room of a B&B or hostel that they find themselves struggling to raise their children in.”

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “Temporary accommodation ensures that no families with children are ever left without roofs over their heads.

“This Government has i nvested £500m to tackle homelessness, including prevention funding and £40m for councils to help rough sleepers.”