Living in momentary accommodation has contributed to the deaths of 104 children in England in the previous six years, 76 of whom have been underneath the age of one, in accordance to knowledge.
Statistics additionally present there have been 64 stillbirths and 27 neonatal deaths involving moms dwelling in momentary accommodation (TA) in the UK in 2024. Experts say the housing disaster is pushing households into circumstances that endanger their lives.
Siobhain McDonagh, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for households in momentary accommodation, which compiled the information, mentioned she was appalled to see a rise in little one deaths linked to TA, which has soared in use in latest years. It is estimated that 135,000 households reside in TA in England, together with almost 176,000 children.
“We should all be outraged by these figures,” McDonagh mentioned. “We need urgent, sustained action to bring down the number of homeless children and to ensure that no family is left in conditions that put lives at risk. Because until that happens, we cannot honestly say we are doing enough.”
The parliamentary group used knowledge from the National Child Mortality Database, which confirmed that between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2025, 104 children died with TA recorded as a contributing issue to their vulnerability, ill-health or demise.
Figures additionally confirmed that 140 children died with their predominant residence listed as TA between October 2023 and September 2025. Each of these will likely be topic to a proper demise overview course of to discover out whether or not TA was a contributing issue, so the 104 complete might rise additional.
Data collected for the primary time by MBRRACE-UK, a analysis mission into pregnancy-related deaths by the University of Oxford, discovered that out of 3,303 deaths of infants born between 1 January and three December 2024, no less than 91 (3%) have been to moms dwelling in TA.
Matt Downie, chief government at Crisis, mentioned the difficulty had turn out to be “a normalised emergency that rarely makes the headlines or the top of the government’s priority list”.
“But this, surely, must act as a wake-up call,” he mentioned. “No child should have to grow up without a safe place to call home, let alone lose their life as a result of our broken housing and homelessness system. It’s deplorable and, crucially, avoidable.”
Dr Laura Neilson, the chief government of the Shared Health Foundation, mentioned the figures have been “absolutely scandalous”.
“These deaths are not inevitable,” Neilson mentioned. “They are the direct result of political choices, of systems that are not fit for purpose, and of a housing crisis that is pushing families into conditions that endanger their lives.
“This must be a turning point. Because if we continue to see these figures rise year after year, it will be because we have chosen to tolerate them. That is indefensible.”
The cross-party housing, communities and native authorities committee launched a separate report concluding that households have been dwelling in TA that was “unfit for human habitation”.
Florence Eshalomi, a Labour MP and the chair of the committee, mentioned an excessive amount of TA was unsuitable for households, with no cooking services, no house for children to study to stroll or do their homework and hazards corresponding to mould or rats. “It is truly devastating that this crisis has become a normalised emergency,” she mentioned.
The committee criticised the federal government for failing to accumulate official knowledge on the bodily situation of TA, saying it was “spending more than ever on temporary accommodation without a good understanding of the quality of the provision this money is paying for”.
The report welcomed the federal government’s plans to apply Awaab’s law and the first rate houses customary to TA, however warned it was not sufficient. Eshalomi mentioned: “The government needs to act now. It’s crucial the government strengthens existing protections, including by carrying out regular inspections on the quality of accommodation.”
It known as on the federal government to not only eliminate the use of B&Bs as TA by the top of the parliament, however to cease the use of all different sorts of shared accommodation, in addition to requiring councils to perform obligatory inspections.
Homelessness minister Alison McGovern mentioned: “In the Child Poverty Strategy, we set out our commitment to do everything we can to eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation, and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience or gaps in health care provision.
“Alongside this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will provide the strongest protections in a generation, making sure vulnerable children are identified, supported and never again allowed to fall through the cracks.”
