Thousands of children face Christmas without a home as number in temporary accommodation at record high

Published

2 years ago

December 1, 2023

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The number of households and children in temporary accommodation in England has hit “shameful” record highs, with nearly 139,000 children living without a permanent home, according to new figures.

Government statistics on homelessness show that between April and June this year, 105,750 households were in temporary accommodation – a new high since records began 25 years ago and an increase of 10.5% compared with the end of June last year.

Overall, 64.4% of households in temporary accommodation included dependent children, with 138,930 living in temporary accommodation – up from 131,500 at the end of March.

Housing charity Shelter said the figures showed the country had hit “yet another shameful record in the housing emergency” as it warned that nearly 139,000 children were now “facing spending Christmas without a safe and secure place to call home”.

Other figures published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) showed a total of 73,660 households were assessed as needing help from their local authority due to being homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Of the 34,850 households that were assessed as being threatened with homelessness, 6,640 households had been issued with a Section 21 notice, also known as a no-fault eviction notice, which the government promised to ban in its landmark Renters Reform Bill.

Meanwhile, there were less than 9,000 new-build homes for social rent available in the latest financial year.

It came as yet another council in Scotland declared a housing emergency, blaming, in part, failures with the UK’s asylum system.

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Shelter chief executive Polly Neate blamed “decades of failure to build enough social homes combined with record-high private rents” and said many are facing “months or even years in temporary accommodation, where their lives are stuffed into cardboard boxes and they can be forced to move at the drop of a hat”.

Rick Henderson, CEO at Homeless Link, said the statistics were “shocking”.

“The cost of providing temporary accommodation is crippling local authorities across the country, to the extent that some are filing for bankruptcy and others are on the verge of going under,” he said.

“At the same time, the people living in temporary accommodation, including over one hundred thousand children, too often experience very poor conditions such as overcrowding and severe mould and damp.

“Cleary this situation cannot continue. In the long-term, whoever forms the next government must build the 90,000 social homes per year we need, so people have affordable, secure homes to live in.”

The government has promised to ban Section 21 notices through the Renters Reform Bill, but the pledge could face long delays after Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove told Tory backbenchers he would not enact the policy until courts have been reformed.

He made the concession to Tory backbenchers – some of who own properties themselves – following reports they considered the measure as “un-Conservative” and “anti-landlord”.

But Tom Darling, campaign manager for the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said the statistics were “yet another reminder of the urgency of abolishing Section 21 evictions – which are a key driver of homelessness, as well as a source of constant insecurity for millions of tenants”.

Matt Downie, the chief executive of Crisis, said the level of social homes being built is “a disgrace” and accused the government of a “failure to address the chronic shortage of genuinely affordable homes”.

A total of 63,605 affordable homes were completed across England in the year to March 2023, which the government said was a 7% increase on the previous 12 months and the highest delivery since 2014-15.

A DLUHC spokesperson said it is spending £2bn over three years “as part of a cross-government strategy to build homes for rough sleepers, give financial support for people to find a new home, and prevent evictions”.

They said the government has a “multi-billion pound programme to build thousands of new affordable homes, with a large number for social rent” and referred to progress of the Renters Reform Bill through parliament and the unfreezing of the Local Housing Allowance from April, announced in last week’s autumn statement.

Politics

Budget 2025: Consumer confidence falls as speculation ramps up – but London mayor welcomes major rail investment

Published

9 hours ago

November 20, 2025

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Budget 2025: Consumer confidence falls as speculation ramps up - but London mayor welcomes major rail investment

Consumer confidence has tumbled amid rampant speculation about what the chancellor will announce in the budget, figures show.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) blamed “strong hints” from the government of income tax hikes for the public’s falling expectations of how much they’ll spend over the next three months – even as Christmas beckons.

While a planned increase in income tax rates was scrapped last week, Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rule out freezing income tax thresholds – which the Conservatives argue amounts to a tax rise by stealth because it drags people into paying higher rates even if their wages increase.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said months of uncertainty had “heightened public concern about their own finances and the wider economy”.

Consumer expectations for the state of the economy over the next three months have fallen significantly to minus 44, down from minus 35 in October, according to data from the BRC and Opinium.

Ms Dickinson said action was needed from Rachel Reeves to “bring down the spiralling cost burden facing retailers”, which she said would “keep price rises in check”.

Signs of ‘fragile’ recovery in jobs market

In slightly more encouraging news for Ms Reeves ahead of her statement next Wednesday, new research suggests the jobs market may be on the up.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said the number of new job adverts last month was 754,359, up by 2.1% from September, taking the total to more than 1.6 million.

Ms Reeves’s decision to hike national insurance contributions for employers in last year’s budget was blamed for a slowdown in the market, and a rising unemployment rate.

The report said there has been an increase in adverts for medical radiographers, delivery drivers and couriers, and further education teaching professionals.

But it warned the apparent recovery was “fragile”.

Reeves set to back DLR extension

One man looking forward to the budget is Sir Sadiq Khan, who has welcomed reports that London’s DLR is set to be given funding for an extension.

According to the Press Association, the chancellor will back an extension to the Docklands Light Railway to Thamesmead at a cost of £1.7bn – unlocking thousands of new homes.

Thamesmead has been notoriously short of public transport links ever since it was developed in the 1960s.

The plan would see the line extended from Gallions Reach, near London City Airport, and include a new station at Beckton as well as in Thamesmead itself.

Sir Sadiq said the DLR extension “will not only transform travel in a historically under-served part of the capital but also unlock thousands of new jobs and homes, boosting the economy not just locally but nationally”.

It is also expected to unlock land for 25,000 new homes and up to 10,000 new jobs, along with almost £18bn of private investment in the area.

Politics

Prospective CFTC chair addresses DeFi regulation at nomination hearing

Published

15 hours ago

November 19, 2025

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Prospective CFTC chair addresses DeFi regulation at nomination hearing

Michael Selig, who serves as chief counsel for the crypto task force at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, faced questions from lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee for his nomination to be the next chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

On Wednesday, Selig appeared before the committee and addressed questions and concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle regarding his potential conflicts of interest, policy views and experience as the next CFTC chair, succeeding Caroline Pham.

Government, Senate, SEC, CFTC, United States — *Michael Selig addressing lawmakers on Wednesday’s confirmation hearing. Source:* *US Senate Agriculture Committee*

In his opening statement, Selig said he had advised a wide range of market participants, including digital asset companies, and warned against the agency taking a regulation-by-enforcement approach, stating that it would drive companies offshore.

“We’re at a unique moment in the history of our financial markets,” said Selig. “A wide range of new technologies, products, and platforms are emerging […] the digital asset economy alone has grown from a mere curiosity to a nearly $4 trillion market.”

The confirmation of Selig, whom US President Donald Trump nominated to chair the CFTC following the removal of his first pick, Brian Quintenz, is expected to head for a vote soon. According to the Senate calendar, the Agriculture Committee is scheduled to discuss his nomination on Thursday.

Addressing DeFi, crypto enforcement, roles of agency

The prospective CFTC chair responded to questions from the committee chair, Senator John Boozman, who advocated for the agency to take a leading role in regulating spot digital commodity markets. The senator’s remarks came as the committee is expected to consider a market structure bill that would give the CFTC more authority to regulate crypto.

“The CFTC, and only the CFTC, should regulate the trading of digital commodities,” said Boozman.

The Arkansas senator questioned Selig about his potential approach to decentralized finance if he were to be confirmed, an issue that reportedly divided many lawmakers on the market structure bill.

“When we’re thinking about DeFi, it’s something of a buzzword, but really we should be looking to onchain markets and onchain applications and thinking about the features of these applications as well as where there’s an actual intermediary involved […]” said Selig.

He added that it was “vitally important that we have a cop on the beat” in response to a question on regulating crypto, specifically spot digital asset commodity markets.