Nearly 85,000 households were in B&Bs and hostels in England at end of March

The number of households living in temporary accommodation in England is at its highest level in more than a decade and the number of households considered newly homeless rose by by more than 3,000 in three months, government statistics show.

A total of 84,740 households were in bed and breakfasts, hostels and other temporary accommodation at the end of March this year, including 126,020 children, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said. It is the highest number of such households since mid-2007 and compares with a low of 48,010 in 2010.

Between January and March this year, 32,740 households were initially assessed as being homeless, up 11.2% from 29,430 in the previous quarter.

The figures only account for those whom the authorities deem homeless, and charities say the true figure is much higher. Years of austerity, changes to the benefit system and rising rents have led to sustained increases in the number of people made homeless.

The number of households classified as homeless in rural England almost doubled over the past year, according to an analysis by the Campaign to Protect Rural England. It said 173,584 families were on waiting lists for social housing in areas where councils built just 1,336 homes for social rent in 2018.

The housing charity Shelter said one household had become homeless every four minutes in England in the last year, and it called on the government to invest in a new generation of social homes.

Quick guide Rough sleeping and homelessness in the UK Show Hide Is rough sleeping getting worse? The government claims rough sleeping in England fell for the first time in eight years in 2018, from 4,751 in 2017 to 4,677. But the body that oversees the quality of official statistics in the UK has said the number should not be trusted after 10% of councils changed their counting methods. Rough sleeping in London has hit a record high, with an 18% rise in 2018-19. The numbers of people sleeping rough across Scotland have also risen, with 2,682 people reported as having slept rough on at least one occasion. Shelter, whose figures include rough sleepers and people in temporary accommodation, estimate that overall around 320,000 people are homeless in Britain. What’s being done about rough sleeping? The government’s Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, which places new duties on state institutions to intervene earlier to prevent homelessness has been in force for more than a year, but two thirds of councils have warned they cannot afford to comply with it. In 2018, James Brokenshire, the housing secretary, announced a one-off £30m funding pot for immediate support for councils to tackle rough sleeping. How does the law treat rough sleepers? Rough sleeping and begging are illegal in ENgland and Wales under the Vagrancy Act 1824, which makes ‘wandering abroad and lodging in any barn or outhouse, or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart or wagon, and not giving a good account of himself or herself’ liable to a £1,000 fine. Leading homelessness charities, police and politicians have called on the government to scrap the law. Since 2014, councils have increasingly used public space protection orders to issue £100 fines. The number of homeless camps forcibly removed by councils across the UK has more than trebled in five years, figures show, prompting campaigners to warn that the rough sleeping crisis is out of control and has become an entrenched part of life in the country. Is austerity a factor in homelessness? A Labour party analysis has claimed that local government funding cuts are disproportionately hitting areas that have the highest numbers of deaths among homeless people. Nine of the 10 councils with the highest numbers of homeless deaths in England and Wales between 2013 and 2017 have had cuts of more than three times the national average of £254 for every household. What are the health impacts of rough sleeping? A study of more than 900 homeless patients at a specialist healthcare centre in the West Midlands found that they were 60 times more likely to visit A&E in a year than the general population in England. Homeless people were more likely to have a range of medical conditions than the general population. While only 0.9% of the general population are on the register for severe mental health problems, the proportion was more than seven times higher for homeless people, at 6.5%.

Just over 13% of homeless men have a substance dependence, compared with 4.3% of men in the general population. For women the figures were 16.5% and 1.9% respectively. In addition, more than a fifth of homeless people have an alcohol dependence, compared with 1.4% of the general population. Hepatitis C was also more prevalent among homeless people.

Sarah Marsh, Rajeev Syal and Patrick Greenfield

“During a year where Brexit negotiations have totally dominated the political agenda, catastrophic numbers of people have become homeless,” said Shelter’s chief executive, Polly Neate. “Cripplingly expensive private rents, frozen housing benefits and lengthy waiting lists for social homes are pushing people to the sharp edge of a housing emergency, which won’t go away without genuinely affordable homes.

“The government must invest in a new generation of social homes, 3m more in 20 years, if they are to pull hundreds of thousands of people out of homelessness. And in the meantime they must urgently increase housing benefit so that it covers at least the bottom third of private rents.”

The charity Crisis said everyone had the right to a decent home. It welcomed what it said was the success of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) in preventing nearly 60,000 households from becoming homeless in England, but called on the government to address the causes of the issue.

“We know we can do better,” said Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of Crisis. “The HRA has great potential, but it can only go so far when people are being pushed to the brink, struggling to meet the cost of housing. The government needs to tackle the root causes of this issue, investing in building more social housing and restoring local housing allowance, so that it covers the true cost of renting.”

Crisis said more than 7,000 households currently lived in B&Bs and were unable to access safe and secure accommodation. “Our clients tell us of damaged and even dangerous conditions, where they lack basic cooking and laundry facilities and face the constant pressure eviction at short notice. No one should have to live like this,” Sparkes said.

The government figures show London continues to have a disproportionately high number of households in temporary accommodation, with 66% of the total for the whole of England.

MHCLG’ s report acknowledges for the first time that a proportion of those considered “hidden” homeless were omitted in previous statistics, suggesting some have now been accounted for.

The National Probation Service, which supervises offenders after they leave prison, made the most referrals to authorities reporting either homelessness or fears that households were threatened with homelessness.

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The statistics are based on full or partial returns from 319 out of 326 local authorities, and MHCLG said it was working with councils to improve the quality of the data.

Shelter said in November last year that its own research suggested at least 320,000 people were homeless in Britain, and prominent statisticians have cast doubt over official counting methods.

MHCLG said more people than ever were entitled to support to prevent homelessness, after it was made a statutory obligation for local authorities.

“The Homelessness Reduction Act is the most ambitious change to homelessness legislation in decades,” said the minister for homelessness, Luke Hall. “Today’s figures show that progress is being made. The act is helping people earlier so they are not having to experience homelessness in the first place. There is still more to do though, which is why we have committed a record investment to ending homelessness and rough sleeping for good.”

The department said another £54m would be spent in 2020-21 to help reduce homelessness and rough sleeping, a 13% increase on the current year.