Hundreds of Sheffield children facing homelessness as nationwide figures hit record high

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show a record number of homeless children across England were living in temporary accommodation as of the end of March 2024.

The number of children housed in temporary accommodation such as hotels and bed and breakfasts has risen by 17 per cent since 2020, surpassing 150,000 and reaching the highest figure since records began in 2004.

This includes 414 in Sheffield.

The figures also show 91 households with children in Sheffield were assessed as needing a prevention duty in the three months to March, with a further 72 assessed as needing a relief duty.

A prevention duty must be issued if the household has been threatened with homelessness and is eligible for local council support, while a relief duty is needed when the applicant is already homeless.

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The areas with the highest rates of children living in temporary accommodation are mostly in London, with some areas seeing more one in 20 children living in short-term housing.

Labour described the homelessness crisis as a "national scandal", while Big Issue founder and crossbench peer Lord Bird, who has spoken out about his experience of growing up in poverty, described the latest figures as "appalling".

He warned "another winter looms and there’s little being done to turn this terrible tide".

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "This Government inherited a housing crisis which has left families stuck living in temporary accommodation, and we know this is having a knock-on effect of increasing pressure on council finances.

"We have laid out clear plans in the short and long-term about how we will deliver our target of 1.5 million homes.

"We will prevent homelessness before it occurs by banning Section 21 evictions, and deliver the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.

"We will also give councils more stability through multi-year funding settlements."