Temporary Accommodation: Children – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent estimate he has made of the number of children in temporary accommodation.

Luke Hall: The number of children in temporary accommodation at April-June 2019 is 127,370. This figure is taken from the quarterly statutory homelessness statistics and is available at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/livetables-on-homelessness

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-01-14/3292

Child Homelessness Figures Branded ‘Shameful’ Under Tory Government

The rise in child homelessness figures under a Conservative government is ‘shameful’, according to Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Housing, Tim Farron. As reported by 24housing, 135,000 children in Britain are homeless and living in temporary accommodation – the highest figure in 12 years, according to a report by Shelter. The report also highlighted the 5,683 homeless families with children currently living in emergency B&Bs and hostels – with some London boroughs seeing every one in 12 children as homeless. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/child-homelessness-figures-branded-shameful-under-tory-government/

Temporary Accommodation: Children – Parliamentary Written Answer

The Earl of Listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children have been living in temporary accommodation in each of the last five years.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The following data refers to the number of children who were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March on each of the past 5 years.

·         31 March 2015: 98,620

·         31 March 2016: 111,060

·         31 March 2017: 120,520

·         31 March 2018: 123,520

·         31 March 2019: 126,020

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2019-10-24/HL407

Bedroom Tax Applies Even When Children Must Share Very Small Rooms

A court ruling has prompted the government to remind councils that the bedroom tax applies even when children are forced to share very small rooms. In an information bulletin issued to council housing benefit staff, the DWP highlighted town halls of their legal duty to consider a Court of Appeal judgement handed down on 24 June. The DWP had appealed an Upper Tribunal ruling in favour of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council and mum-of-two Rachel Hockley concerning the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) – more commonly referred to as the bedroom tax. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/bedroom-tax-applies-even-when-children-must-share-very-small-rooms-councils-warned-62988?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Downsizers Want To Help Offspring Get On Housing Ladder

Home owners in Britain looking to downsize are four times more likely to spend their extra cash getting their kids on the property ladder, rather than supporting them through their education, according to new research. A survey of 1,000 home owners aged 55 and over by full service estate agency Yopa found that property takes precedent over education, with only 6% saying they would support their children through university compared to 22% wanting to help them get on the property ladder. While 23% of downsizers would like to spend more on their kids, more than twice as many would rather indulge themselves. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/downsizers-in-britain-want-to-help-offspring-get-on-housing-ladder/

How Landlords Can Refuse To Let To Tenants With Children

Landlords can refuse potential tenants with children when letting out a UK property, which has prompted complaints from some of those turned down. Some families searching for a home to rent say it is unfair and discriminatory to rule out tenants with children. But landlords point out that not all properties are suitable for youngsters, and that they are within their rights to refuse. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48938553

Number Of Children Housed In B&Bs Rises 18 Per Cent

The number of households with children living in bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation in England rose by 18 per cent in the last year, according to official statistics. Figures released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reveal that there were 2,420 households with children in B&Bs at 31 December 2018 - 34.7 percent of all households living in such accommodation - up from 2,050 at the same time in 2017. Of those, 810 households had been living in a B&B for more than the statutory limit of six weeks, although this was an eight per cent decrease on the previous year. Read more on the CYPN website.

https://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2006766/number-of-children-housed-in-b-bs-rises-18-per-cent

Benefit Cap On Lone Parents Of Under-Twos Is Unlawful

The government’s policy of imposing the benefit cap on tens of thousands of lone parents with children under the age of two is unlawful, discriminatory and has resulted in “real damage” to the families affected, the high court has ruled. The benefit cap, which limits the total amount households can receive in benefits to £20,000 a year, or £23,000 in Greater London, was envisaged as an “incentive” to persuade unemployed people to move into work. However, Mr Justice Collins said in his judgment that the policy visited “real misery to no good purpose” on lone parents with very young children who were subject to the cap despite there being no official requirement for them to find work. Read more on the Guardian website.

Research To Examine Impact Of The ‘Bedroom Tax’ On Children And Their Education

In the first piece of research to examine the impact of the controversial welfare policy on children and their education, the University of Manchester found that the introduction of the so-called ‘bedroom tax’, alongside other cuts in benefits, was having an adverse effect on pupils’ ability to learn and concentrate, with the emotional distress caused by poverty taking its toll on schoolwork. It also found that forcing children to share bedrooms – required under the government changes which reduce housing benefit for those judged to have ‘spare rooms’- was having a negative impact on schooling by leaving youngsters without a quiet place for homework or undisturbed sleep. It also made afterschool and extra-curricular activities or playdates with friends unaffordable to some parents. Download the report from the University of Manchester website.

Parents Evicting Their Own Children to Get Them into a Social House

Children are being evicted by their parents so they can get a social house, a report has revealed. Politicians will meet to discuss Three Rivers District Council’s homelessness strategy, which sets out how the authority will tackle homelessness across the district. A council report claims some parents were evicting their children so they could get their own accommodation and suggested there was evidence linking the number of parental evictions to the lack of social housing. Lack of social housing and high private sector rents were identified as the main barriers to tackling homelessness in the district over the next two years. Read more on the Watford Observer website.