Bad housing hurts 'a million children'
One million children - enough to fill the cities of Manchester, Edinburgh and Bath - live in bad housing conditions in Britain, a report by the charity Shelter has claimed. The report, Toying with the future: the hidden cost of the housing crisis, was published last week to coincide with the launch of the charity's Million Children campaign. It highlights the effects of homelessness and substandard living conditions on children's lives, and Shelter has called on the UK Government, Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly to commit themselves to 'ending bad housing for the next generation of children'.
The report, Toying with the future: the hidden cost of the housing crisis, was published last week to coincide with the launch of the charity's Million Children campaign. It highlights the effects of homelessness and substandard living conditions on children's lives, and Shelter has called on the UK Government, Scottish Executive and Welsh Assembly to commit themselves to 'ending bad housing for the next generation of children'.
Adam Sampson, director of Shelter, said, 'There is a hidden housing crisis in Britain and over a million children are suffering the devastating consequences on their health, their education and their chances in life. It is time for housing to be put back on the political agenda along with education and health, where it belongs.'
The report says that more than one million children live in overcrowded, temporary or unfit housing in England, Scotland and Wales, and that homelessness among families in Britain had increased by 17 per cent since 1997. Bad housing meant that one in 12 children was more likely to develop diseases such as bronchitis, TB or asthma.
The report adds that homeless children living in bed and breakfast accommodation are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital accident and emergency units with severe burns and scalding.
Bad housing also contributes to children missing out on their education, as 'parents struggling to keep a roof over the family's head and food on the table simply cannot provide children with the attention and support they need to do their schoolwork,' says the report.
Shelter has called for the public to lobby the Government until it pledged 'to end bad housing for the next generation of children'. The charity said it wanted to see more investment in new homes, improvement of homes in disrepair, better regulation of landlords, more support services to prevent homelessness, and neighbourhoods that children could feel safe and secure in.
The report concludes, 'Year by year, the drive to provide decent, affordable homes has slipped down successive Governments' agendas. We cannot afford for this to continue.'
