More than 100 child deaths in six years with links to temporary accommodation
Data has been published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The deaths of more than 100 children in recent years in England potentially linked to temporary accommodation has been described as “absolutely scandalous”.
A total of 104 children – 76 of whom were aged under one – died with temporary accommodation as a contributing factor to their vulnerability, ill-health, or death, according to data covering April 1 2019 to March 31 2025.
Temporary accommodation is a form of homelessness and can include environments such as bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and hostels.
The number of children living in temporary accommodation is at a record high, according to data published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in February.
A total of 175,990 children were in such accommodation in England at the end of September, which was a rise of 7% on the same point in 2024.
The latest report from the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation, published on Wednesday, includes data from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD).
The APPG also said between October 2023 and September 2025 a total of 140 children with their main residence listed as temporary accommodation had died.
Assessments are still being carried out as to whether their living conditions were a contributing factor to their deaths but the report cautioned that if such conclusions were reached then current numbers could increase.
The APPG report also said that new data collected for the first time by MBRRACE-UK – a project based at the University of Oxford which investigates deaths of women and babies who die during pregnancy or shortly after – showed stillbirths and neonatal deaths potentially linked to temporary accommodation.
The report found that of all 3,303 deaths of babies in England born between January 1 and December 3 2024, at least 91 – 64 stillbirths and 27 neonatal deaths – were to mothers who had lived in such accommodation or been otherwise homeless during their pregnancy.
The report said that overall where temporary accommodation was a contributing factor to the death of a child, other main factors alongside that included poverty, deprivation and race inequalities.
APPG chairwoman Dame Siobhain McDonagh said she was “appalled to see yet another rise in the number of children whose deaths have been linked to temporary accommodation” and that the new data on stillbirths and neonatal deaths was “equally shocking”.
She added: “We should all be outraged by these figures.”
Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said: “It breaks my heart that B&Bs are tragically contributing to the deaths of children.
“We must and we are improving the whole system, so every child can get the best start in life.”
She said the Government had set out in its child poverty strategy, in December, a commitment to “eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience gaps in healthcare provision”.
The strategy pledged to “end the unlawful placement of families in bed and breakfasts beyond the six-week limit”, confirming the continuation of an £8 million pilot programme for the next three years across 20 local authorities with the highest numbers in this situation.
The APPG said there is an urgent need to ensure families have access to cots and other safer sleeping options, warning “this is not routine practice in local authorities, despite it being included in statutory guidance”.
The Shared Health Foundation, which works to reduce the impact poverty has on health, branded the number of deaths in the latest data “absolutely scandalous” and said they “must be a turning point”.
Its chief executive, Dr Laura Neilson, said: “Every number represents a child who has died, a future lost, and a family left to carry that grief for the rest of their lives. These deaths are not inevitable.
“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.”
While she welcomed commitments in the Government’s child poverty and homelessness strategies, she said they must be “implemented without delay”.
Housing charity Shelter said it was a “national scandal for any child to die homeless in this country”, adding that a “dire lack of secure and genuinely affordable social homes has trapped over 175,000 children in unsafe temporary accommodation”.
Meanwhile, a separate report by MPs which was also published on Wednesday warned that conditions in temporary accommodation are “often so poor as to be unfit for human habitation”.
The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee called on the Government to ensure it strengthens protections against poor conditions, phases out unsuitable forms of accommodation such as placing families somewhere with shared facilities, and plans for the long-term supply of good-quality temporary accommodation.
Its chairwoman, Florence Eshalomi, said: “It is truly devastating that this crisis has become a normalised emergency, with many families stuck in so-called temporary accommodation, and without a permanent roof over their head, for years.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub