Temporary accommodation linked to deaths of 104 children in England in six years | Housing
Living in temporary accommodation in England has led to the deaths of 104 children in the last six years, 76 of whom were under the age of one, data shows.
Statistics also show that there will be 64 stillbirths and 27 neonatal deaths in the UK in 2024, involving mothers living in temporary accommodation (TA). Experts say the housing crisis is pushing families into life-threatening conditions.
Siobhain McDonagh, chair of the all-party parliamentary group for households in temporary accommodation, which compiled the data, said she was appalled to see a rise in child deaths due to TA, whose use has skyrocketed in recent years. It is estimated that 135,000 households live in TA in England, including approximately 176,000 children.
“We should all be outraged by these figures,” McDonagh said. “We need immediate and sustained action to reduce the number of homeless children and ensure that no family is left in life-risking conditions, because until that happens we cannot honestly say we are doing enough.”
The parliamentary group used data from the National Child Mortality Database, which showed that between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2025, 104 children died with TA recorded as a contributing factor to their vulnerability, poor health or death.
The figures also showed that 140 children died between October 2023 and September 2025, with their main residence listed as TA. Each of these will undergo a formal death review process to find out whether TA was a contributing factor, so the total could rise further to 104 children.
Data collected for the first time by MBRRACE-UK, a University of Oxford research project into pregnancy-related deaths, found that at least 91 (3%) of 3,303 baby deaths born between 1 January and 3 December 2024 were caused by mothers living in TA.
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said the issue had become “a normalized emergency that rarely makes the headlines or is at the top of the government’s priority list”.
“But this should of course serve as a wake-up call,” he said. “No child should have to grow up without a safe place to call home, let alone lose their life as a result of our broken housing and homelessness system. This is heartbreaking and, most importantly, preventable.”
CEO of the Shared Health Foundation, Dr. Laura Neilson said the figures were “absolutely scandalous”.
“These deaths are not inevitable,” Neilson said. “These are the direct result of political choices, systems that are not fit for purpose and a housing crisis that is pushing families into life-threatening conditions.
“This must be a turning point. Because if we continue to see these numbers rise year after year, it will be because we have chosen to tolerate them. That is untenable.”
The cross-party housing, communities and local government committee published a separate report concluding that families were living in TA in a way that was “unfit for human habitation”.
Labor MP and committee chair Florence Eshalomi said too many TAs were unsuitable for families, lacking cooking facilities, areas where children could learn to walk or do their homework, and dangers such as mold or mice. “It is truly devastating that this crisis has become a normalized emergency,” he said.
The committee criticized the government for not collecting official data on TA’s physical condition, saying it was “spending more than ever on temporary accommodation without a good understanding of the quality of the provision that this money pays for”.
The report welcomed the government’s plans to apply the Awaab law and the decent homes standard to TA but warned it was not enough. Eshalomi said: “The government needs to act now. It is crucial that the government strengthens existing protections, including carrying out regular inspections of the quality of accommodation.”
He called on the government to not only eliminate the use of hostels as TAs by the end of parliament, but also to cease the use of all other forms of shared accommodation and require councils to carry out mandatory inspections.
Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said: “In the Child Poverty Strategy we set out our determination to do everything we can to eliminate inappropriate or poor quality accommodation and ensure that children in temporary accommodation do not experience shortages or shortages of healthcare provision.
“Alongside this, the Child Welfare and Schools Bill will deliver the strongest protection in a generation, ensuring vulnerable children are identified, supported and never allowed to fall through the cracks again.”
