New report by the Bevan Foundation evidences the risk of physical harm which unsuitable temporary accommodation placements by local authorities are posing to children. They can also have a serious effect on a child’s wellbeing and ability to develop and learn.
Thousands of homeless children across Wales are going to bed in a place which they cannot call home. At worst, they will be sharing a single hotel, hostel or bed and breakfast room with their family with limited access to essentials like being able to cook or do laundry. At best they might have their own front door and a whole house to themselves, but there will be constant uncertainty about when the next move will be.
Just living as a family and doing the things which others will take for granted can all be extremely challenging. A life living in the limbo of temporary accommodation means uncertainty, a lack of space and privacy, and challenges in just simply enjoying life together. Even accommodation which has been designed for the support needs of families, such as hostels and refuges, can have its limitations when temporary stays last for months or even years.
Wendy Dearden, Senior Policy and Research Officer at the Bevan Foundation, said:
Securing suitable accommodation for homeless families is really difficult for local authorities in the current housing market. Regulations are in place around the suitability of temporary accommodation, but these are not being enforced. Local authorities are working hard in difficult circumstances but there is a systemic culture in both local and Welsh government that “we are doing the best that we can”. The Bevan Foundation believes that Wales needs to do better when providing for children and families living in the most vulnerable of circumstances.
The statistics show that the number of homeless families living in the worst conditions are reducing, but there is still more work to do. Regulations are not being met or enforced, and the Bevan Foundation believes that the expectations set out in those regulations are not of a high enough standard.
We have found evidence of dangerous overcrowded conditions, worrying sleeping arrangements for infants, and accumulations of personal belongings. Most worrying is the knowledge that unexpected child deaths have occurred in temporary accommodation in Wales. The Bevan Foundation have estimated that this is 1 or 2 deaths per year – the equivalent of one in every 100 infant and child deaths – but we can only estimate this, as there are no clear data collection processes in place in Wales.
Despite guidance on minimising disruption to education when placing children in temporary accommodation, the reality is that in most cases homelessness will impact on a child’s learning. We heard of children struggling to get to school when their temporary accommodation is a distance away from it, and that frequent moves between different accommodation caused lots of disruption. Schools have told us that they would be able to provide more support to their pupils if they knew that they were experiencing homelessness, but that this is rarely the case.
Katey Jo-Pilling, a Peer Researcher at Shelter Cymru, said:
The stress and worry that temporary accommodation causes for families is palpable when we speak to them. Whether it’s that they’re stuck in damp or mouldy homes, that they’re living in a hotel with strangers in the next rooms, or that their family is forced to move two or three times in the space of a few months – children and their parents feel this stress and it impacts every part of their lives
Rocio Cifuentes, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales said:
Many children and their families who are experiencing homelessness are living in terrible conditions across Wales. Children are being failed, and as this report shows, there is far more we could be doing to keep them safe until their housing situation has been resolved.
The report provides recommendations which do not require wider systemic change – just sensitive, proactive thinking to provide a protective, supportive place for homeless families to have as normal a life as possible. These include simply but impactful measures such as prohibiting the use of hazardous accommodation, providing cots and free travel passes.
