Children living in ‘temporary’ accommodation for more than five years, investigation reveals
Children in some parts of England are spending more than five and a half years in temporary accommodation, a Sky News investigation has found.
Data from Freedom of Information requests shows London and the South East are the regions seeing the longest stays for homeless households.
More than two-thirds of local authorities saw households with children experience stays 20% longer than households without children.
The average length of time spent in temporary accommodation ranges from two weeks to five and a half years – depending on where in the country people live.
Average lengths of stay for all households have increased by nearly a fifth (17%) since 2020.
£1bn funding boost for councils to tackle homelessness
Lewisham was the worst-affected local authority, with some families with children having been stuck in temporary accommodation for more than five and a half years in 2023-24.
In 2020-21, the average length of stay in the south-east London borough was 620 days – in the four years since it has risen to 2,044.
Lewisham, Brighton and Wandsworth are the areas that currently have the longest average stays – all more than three and a half years.
That is according to the latest data from the first six months of this financial year (2024-25). Ninety-seven councils responded to Sky News’ Freedom of Information requests.
Nicole Hamilton and her son Logan have been in temporary accommodation for years
Nicole Hamilton and her son Logan have spent more than two years in temporary accommodation in London.
Despite working full-time, she has been unable to find anywhere to privately rent.
She said Logan, who is four, has spent “most of his life” in temporary accommodation.
“They told me I could be here for another three years,” she said. “I don’t want him to be suffering in one room.”
Nicole also describes temporary accommodation as “not safe for any child under the age of seven”.
She added: “When the government are giving nothing to the council, and the council have nowhere to put us, they’re literally putting us where they have, be it safe or not.”
Nicole and Logan have spent more than two years in temporary accommodation
‘Children will grow up with different life chances’
Claire Cruise, a lawyer from Southwark Law Centre specialising in education, describes a “two-tier system” developing between those children who live in temporary accommodation, and those who do not.
She said: “You have the long-term impact on children’s mental health, you have the social isolation… children in hotel rooms don’t have desks to be able to do their work, they fall behind their peers so quickly.
“My fear is that it leads to a two-tier society and we are talking a significant number who will grow up with completely different life chances.”
A shortage of housing nationally is contributing towards the homelessness crisis.
The government has pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in the next five years.
Shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, Kevin Hollinrake, describes the plan as “confused” and “chaotic”.
He told Sky News: “Look at the maps, look at where those houses are, many of the boroughs of London have seen a decrease in their targets for housing delivery, a decrease.
“Yet we know the demand in London for rough sleeping, for temporary accommodation, is at its highest.
“So it makes no sense… it’s chaotic right now. It’s all over the place.
“Now say if they can deliver on this stuff, great… more affordable homes, more social homes, then we’ll welcome that… but at the moment it’s very difficult to see how that’s going to happen.”
Read more on Sky News:
Starmer has big housing ambitions – but will it work?
Councils to get £68m to build on brownfield sites
‘Consequences of years of failure’
In response, the minister for homelessness Rushanara Ali said the government has “inherited the consequences of years of failure to grip the housing crisis”.
She described “far too many families and children” who are “facing the uncertainty and trauma of homelessness”.
“This has to stop, which is why we are taking decisive action and working at pace across government to end homelessness,” she said.
“We have already announced extra funding to bring support for homelessness services to £1bn next year.
“On top of this, we will deliver the biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation and tackle one of the biggest drivers of homelessness by ending no fault evictions.”
A man has been arrested by police investigating a “significant” wildfire that triggered a major incident in Northern Ireland.
More than 100 firefighters and 15 fire appliances were deployed on Saturday to Sandbank Road, Hilltown, to tackle the blaze which is believed to have been caused deliberately, fire chiefs said.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said the fire had a front of approximately two miles “including a large area of forestry close to property”.
It was extinguished at 2.53am on Sunday and the major incident status lifted, the NIFRS said.
“The cause of this fire is believed to have been deliberate,” chief fire and rescue officer Aidan Jennings said.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Sunday that a 25-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered, and non-related driving offences”.
“He remains in custody at this time as enquiries continue into the circumstances surrounding the fire,” the force added.
The wildfire on Sandbank Road, Hilltown. Pic: Sky Watch NI
More than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire. Pic: Sky Watch NI
Various fires erupted across England this week amid uncharacteristically warm and dry conditions for the time of year.
On Saturday, helicopters were deployed to tackle Scotland’s fourth wildfire this week, with police saying a blaze “which started in the Newton Stewart area has spread northwards and is expected to reach the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire around 12am on Sunday”.
Police Scotland added: “As a precautionary measure members of the public are asked to avoid the Loch Doon area and anyone who may be camping in the area is advised to leave.”
Moors Valley Country Park blackened by fires this week
Elsewhere in England, Devon and Cornwall Police said they were assisting the fire service with temporary road closures on the A30 in the Bolventor area as they tackle “a number of fires” on moorland.
In Dorset, Moors Valley Country Park was forced to close after multiple wildfires broke out there on Wednesday.
Read more from Sky News:
Zelenskyy makes dig at US over its response to Russian attack
What hopes are there for the future of Prince Harry’s charity?
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Wildfires spread across nature reserve
Separate incidents were then reported at Upton Heath in Poole on Wednesday, and nearby Canford Heath in the early hours of Thursday.
Friday was officially the warmest day of the year so far – with temperatures in the south of England reaching 23C (73.4F) – the highest since 21 September last year, according to the Met Office.
The weather conditions triggered a “severe” wildfire rating for parts of the UK on Tuesday.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway