Number of homeless families on the rise

 

By Joe LepperThursday, 08 March 2012

 

The number of homeless families with children is increasing, according to latest government figures.

There were 36,600 households with children or a pregnant family member living in temporary accommodation at the end of last year. Image: Arlen Connelly

Statistics for the last quarter of 2011 show 8,110 families with dependent children were accepted as homeless by councils. This is up 1,530 on figures for the same period the previous year and up 230 on the previous quarter.
The figures show at the end of last year there were 36,600 households with children or a pregnant family member living in temporary accommodation in total. This represents three-quarters of all households living in temporary accommodation. Altogether, there were 69,460 children or expected children in temporary accommodation.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) predicts the figures will rise further when the government’s Welfare Reform Bill becomes law. The plans to cap benefits for households at £26,000 a year is set to hit those living in high rent areas, such as London, the hardest.

CPAG spokesman Tim Nichols said: "Our concern is that this is an early warning of the impact of the government’s plans around housing benefit cuts. Alarm bells should be ringing for ministers and civil servants in Whitehall. We are expecting this will be worse in London."
Among those families with children in temporary accommodation, 1,310 were in bed and breakfast accommodation. At the end of last year 450 had been in bed and breakfast accommodation for at least six weeks.
The figures also show a slight fall in the number of 16- to 24-year-olds accepted as homeless by councils, from 4,430 during the third quarter of 2011 to 4,310 during the final three months of the year.
The total number of people classified as homeless leapt by 14 per cent between 2010 and 2011.