Thousands of homeless kids in ‘unfit’ accommodation

An official report from the Children’s Commissioner for England has found that almost a quarter of a million children in England are without a permanent home, with many living in “unfit” accommodation, including office blocks, converted shipping containers, and B&Bs due to a lack of suitable accommodation available to councils.

The report, Bleak Houses: Tackling the crisis of family homelessness in England, estimates that there could be more than 210,000 homeless children in England, of whom 124,000 are officially homeless and in temporary accommodation, while around 90,000 are in “sofa-surfing” families.

“It is a scandal that a country as prosperous as ours is leaving tens of thousands of families in temporary accommodation for long periods of time, or to sofa surf,” said Commissioner Anne Longfield.