Birmingham has highest rate of kids in temporary accommodation outside of London - shock figures

Shock figures show Birmingham has the highest rate of children living in temporary accommodation outside of the capital

Birmingham has the highest rate of children living in temporary accommodation outside of London, new figures show. While more than half of all the children living in temporary accommodation were based in London, Birmingham comes second for the highest rate outside the capital.

A total of 86,810 children in the capital were in temporary homes in March compared to 64,820 in the rest of England. Birmingham has the highest number of kids in temporary accommodation of any one council, however, with 10,176.

The grim figures. which are the latest from the government, show how thousands of city kids are dealing with the trauma of living in a B&B, hotel room, refuge, homeless centre or other temporary accommodation, sometimes for more than a year. You can read on our report into the scandalous reality of life for those facing housing and cost-of-living issues in our new wide-ranging child poverty report, here.

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Most recently we heard from a desperate single dad and former HS2 worker sleeping on a sofa so his daughter has a bedroom in their temporary accommodation and a mum and four kids squashed into a Birmingham hostel.

Senait Ghebrekidan and her four children have been living in hostels for the past five years, waiting for a council house to become available for them. You can read how they manage to live, and Senait's hopes for the future, in our story here.

Birmingham has the highest rate of kids in temporary accommodation outside of the capital with 10.1 per 1,000 households. Next is Newham with 9,179, Enfield with 4,614, Redbridge with 4,481, Manchester with 4,243, and Ealing with 4,208.

Newham has the highest number of families with children living in temporary accommodation relative to population out of any council in the country. The increasing number of families living in temporary accommodation is down to a lack of affordable and social housing, according to homelessness charity Shelter.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “No child should have to face the trauma of growing up homeless, but the housing emergency has trapped many families in temporary accommodation for over five years.
“Overpriced private rentals and the lack of genuinely affordable social homes are pushing families into homelessness and insecure temporary accommodation. Families are crammed into small rooms, sharing kitchens and bathrooms with strangers and living out of suitcases, worrying they could be moved miles away overnight.

“The government must act to end homelessness for good. To help families out of damaging temporary accommodation into a settled home the government must set a target and invest in building genuinely affordable social homes – we need 90,000 a year for ten years.

Responding to the figures, minister for homelessness Rushanara Ali said: “These numbers are more than just statistics. They show the devastating impact homelessness has on peoples’ lives and it is shocking that so many, including families with children, are spending years without a place to call home.

“We are taking action to tackle the root causes of homelessness – not just its symptoms – putting in place lasting solutions rather than quick fixes.

“We are reversing the worst housing crisis in living history by building 1.5 million new homes and are changing the law to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions – immediately tackling one of the leading causes of homelessness.

"In addition, we’ve announced a new dedicated cross government group, tasked with creating a long-term strategy to end the disgraceful levels of homelessness."