Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, responding to Shelter’s report on children homeless at Christmas, said:
“A stable family home is such an important part of a happy, healthy childhood and it is heart-breaking and completely unacceptable that there will be tens of thousands of children spending Christmas in poor quality, cramped, temporary accommodation.
“Regardless of the time of year, I am concerned that too many families are living in temporary accommodation far beyond the six-week time limit which councils are meant to keep to. The Government should look at what more it can do to ensure local authorities move families into the right housing much quicker than many do at the moment, including targeted support for those councils who are struggling with limited housing availability and shrinking budgets and sharing of best practice.”
