A sharp rise in the number of households in temporary accommodation in England – which can mean being placed in a Travelodge from week to week, with no kitchen – is a clear signal that the UK’s broken housing system is hitting the poorest people hardest. The latest annual figures show that 157,640 families were homeless in 2022/2023, which is 12.1% higher than before Covid, with 104,510 in temporary accommodation in March this year. The latest rough sleeping figures showed that rough sleeping is also on the rise.
While people bedded down on pavements remain the most visible sign of housing policy failure, the far larger number who are in chronically insecure accommodation also face serious risks. Many of these are families with children whose most basic needs are being denied, and there are heart-rending stories of children afraid to go out because they fear they will have nowhere to come back to. One recent report suggested that 440,000 children across the UK sleep on the floor. Such substandard living conditions carry a heavy physical and emotional toll, while moves disrupt education and employment (10.8% of homeless householders are in full-time work). There has also been a sharp rise in the number of homeless people aged 65-74.
