Dire warning seven kids in every school could be homeless by 2030 as futures 'snatched away'

Ministers have been urged to urgently tackle the housing crisis

A generation of children risk having “their futures snatched away” if the next Prime Minister doesn’t act on the housing crisis, campaigners have warned.

Glastonbury founder Sir Michael Eavis, charities and social housing campaigners have written to the leaders of the three main parties calling for urgent action to stop children growing up in damp, mouldy and overcrowded homes.

Analysis by the National Housing Federation (NHF) suggests seven children in every school – or 160,000 kids – will be homeless by the end of the next Parliament if nothing changes. Some 85 children in every school will be living in overcrowded homes – around 2.1 million kids – while 1 in 5 families – some 4.8 million – will be unable to afford their rent or mortgage, the analysis found.

It comes after the latest Government figures said nearly 20,000 more kids were in temporary accommodation at the end of December 2023 compared to the year before, taking the total to 145,800 children. Some 112,660 households were living in temporary accommodation at the end of last year – another record high.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer and Sir Ed Davey, campaigners said: An entire generation of children risk having their futures snatched away if the next Prime Minister does not act to end the housing crisis.” The group, which includes charities like Barnardo’s, St Mungo’s and Refuge, went on: “Millions of children across the country do not have anywhere safe and decent to call home.

“These children are living without space to study, play or even have a good night’s sleep; while their parents struggle to afford essentials like food and clothes. Children with Black and Asian backgrounds are more likely to live in homes with overcrowding or damp and mould. Without a solid foundation from which to grow, these children are having their future potential and life opportunities stolen from them.”

A new YouGov poll found housing is a major issue for voters, with nearly 1 in 3 (31%) Brits saying they have been negatively impacted by housing issues in the last 12 months. The research found nearly 3 in 10 (29%) parents affected by housing issues said this had negatively impacted their children’s health, behaviour, confidence, education or relationships.

More than 8 in 10 (85%) people support building homes in their local area and a majority (53%) across all political parties think the government should prioritise building social homes over housing for private rent or sale.

“We can put an end to the housing emergency and make sure our children have a secure future,” the letter said. “Your voters want this, our children need this, and it makes fiscal sense. To achieve this, we need the next Prime Minister to take the lead on a long-term plan for housing.”

It comes after Housing Secretary Michael Gove abandoned his promise to ban no-fault evictions for renters before the general election. Five years after the Conservatives first promised to scrap Section 21 notices, Mr Gove only said he “hopes” it will become law before Britain heads to the polls. No fault evictions allow landlords to evict tenants without reason, a practice that has been blamed for increased levels of homelessness.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesman said: “Our long-term plan for housing will ensure we build even more of the right homes in the right places. We are on track to build 1 million homes in this Parliament, and, since 2018, we have delivered the highest annual rates of housing supply for the past 30 years.

“We want everyone to have a safe place to call home. That’s why we’re giving councils £1.2 billion to provide financial support to people who need it, helping them to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation.”