2 days Ago By The Independent
A disabled child spent three years suffering unnecessarily because council delays left them and their family in unsuitable temporary housing that could not accommodate a wheelchair, or the special bed and supportive seating that they needed to relieve pain. The property was so unsuitable that medical specialists said the child could not have a key operation while housed there, and the council did not take quick action despite warnings from an occupational therapist. By the time the family were rehoused in October 2022, the original operation was no longer an option.
This is one of a number of shocking cases highlighted by the housing, communities and local government committee of MPs in a new report into England’s housing crisis. Over 164,000 homeless children are currently living in temporary accommodation, such as hotels and B&Bs, in England - the highest number on record. MPs have warned that children are living in appalling conditions, with significant impacts on their health and education.
In the report, published on Thursday, they said they were “alarmed” to hear examples of families housed in temporary accommodation sharing communal facilities with strangers with a history of domestic abuse, posing a potential safeguarding risk to children. In another example, a mother fleeing domestic abuse with her children had to live in a B&B with her disabled child for more than nine weeks, when the law says this accommodation should only be used as a last resort and even then only for a maximum of six weeks. The local government and social care ombudsman, Ms Amerdeep Somal, said that the council did not consider the massive impact placing this vulnerable family in mixed-sex shared accommodation would have.
She added: “The distress the child must have felt – at their age – of suffering incontinence because of their fear of using the shared bathrooms is palpable given the degrading and appalling circumstances they were in”. Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the housing, communities and local government committee, said: “It is utterly shameful that so many families are living in B&Bs, bedsits and hotels that are completely unsuitable to their needs; having to travel for hours simply to get to school or work, not having basics like cots or radiator covers, not even having the space to learn to walk or crawl. “When 74 children had their deaths linked to temporary accommodation in the last five years, it’s clear we need to act urgently to bring an end to this crisis before any more young lives are ruined or lost.
” The committee, which is made up of Labour, Lib Dem and Conservative MPs, has called for all local authorities in England to carry out mandatory inspections of housing before it is first used as temporary accommodation. They also want the government to set up a central notification system so that a child’s school and GP are alerted when they move into temporary accommodation. They added that there had been “a striking rise in the number of families placed in B&B temporary accommodation for more than six weeks unlawfully”.
“We have heard evidence of children being moved from B&B to B families being asked to leave their room and wait for their next nightly placement’ and a family being placed in B&B accommodation for 19 weeks,” the report found. The report highlighted the impact of homelessness on children’s education. Housing charity Shelter told MPs that almost half of children in temporary accommodation must move schools, with one in five having to move multiple times.
Cllr Hannah Dalton, from the District Councils’ Network, said that the “harrowing report exposes how the broken temporary accommodation system fails children”. She added: “This crisis is not just devastating for families, it’s making council finances unsustainable, with district council spending on temporary accommodation more than tripling in just five years”. She called for any future inspection regime for temporary accommodation to be fully funded.
A government spokesperson said: “These findings are shocking and that is why we are taking urgent action to fix the broken system we inherited, investing nearly £1 billion in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation. “Alongside this, we are developing a long-term strategy to tackle homelessness, driving up housing standards and delivering the biggest boost in social and affordable homes in a generation.”.
