More homeless children in London than rest of England combined

There are more homeless children in London than the rest of the country put together, figures from charity Shelter show.

Of the estimated 123,000 homeless children in temporary accommodation in England, nearly 74,000 are in the capital.

Children comprise almost half (45%) of all people recorded as homeless in the data, which covers up to 30 June.

Overall, there are 150,000 homeless people in London, a rate of one in 58.

Five years ago, that figure was 170,000.

It comes months after the number of people sleeping rough in London reached 5,712, a rise of just over a fifth, according to City Hall.

In September, the Centre for London warned many children were trapped in temporary homes due to a lack of affordable housing.

Newham in east London has the highest level of homelessness in the capital with one in 21 people affected, followed by Westminster with one in 27 people and Haringey in north London where one in 33 people are without a home.

Natasha, not her real name, was made homeless aged 22 while five months pregnant following a disagreement with her mum and brother, with whom she lived.

She spent 11 days on the street before moving into a temporary studio flat with a mice issue in south London, where she has remained ever since.

She said: "My daughter is nearly two now. There's no room for a washing machine or an oven and we have to live off microwave meals all the time because we have no space to cook.

"We're still dealing with mould and damp. We have sewage coming up from our toilet and we don't have a bath, only a little shower in the corner.

"I can't even wash my daughter because the smell is so horrible. It just fills up the whole studio."

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said the charity was bracing itself for a sharp rise in homelessness in 2023.

She said: "The new year should be a time of hope, but this isn't the case for the over 150,000 homeless people in London who are facing a truly bleak 2023.

"A cold doorway or a grotty hostel room is not a home, but this is reality for too many people today.

"Our frontline advisers are working tirelessly to help people who are desperate to escape homelessness - from the parents doing all they can to provide some shred of a normal family life while stuck in an emergency B&B, to the person terrified of another night sleeping rough."

A government spokesperson said: "Councils have a duty to ensure no family is left without a roof over their heads.

"That is why we've given them £366m this year to help prevent evictions, support to pay deposits and provide temporary housing.

"Temporary accommodation is always a last resort. Over half a million households have been prevented from becoming homeless since 2018 through the Homelessness Reduction Act."

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