CIH responds to England's latest Homelessness Statistics April 2025

The latest statutory homelessness statistics for England, for winter last year (Oct-Dec 2024) have been published.

As of New Year’s Eve, 2024, the statistics show that 127,890 households, including 165,510 children, were living in temporary accommodation (TA), unsure of when they would have a safe, secure, and permanent home.

This represents a 13.6 per cent increase on the same period in the year before and a 1.5 per cent increase on the previous quarter. The most common length of time that these families with children will spend in TA is over five years.

Although the number of families in temporary accommodation (TA) is at record levels and continuously rising, there are some small positive changes included in the statistics.

The number of families in unsuitable B&B accommodation beyond the statutory 6-week limit and overall has been falling for the past three quarters of the year, and the number of households accepting an offer of settled accommodation has risen by a fifth (20.3 per cent) compared to the year before.

We know that these statistics underestimate the true levels of homelessness and housing insecurity in England. And we can expect the situation to get worse without urgent action – analysis published this week by Shelter shows that the number of children living in TA could increase to over 206,000 by 2029  - a predicted increase of 26 per cent on current levels.

In our submission to the forthcoming Spending Review, we urge the government to address this crisis by boosting the supply of homes at social rent, reforming Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to ensure it truly reflects housing costs, and provide long-term certainty to the social and supported housing sector.

We need to create a housing model that works for all and provides everyone with a safe, secure place to call home.