Mortality of Children in Temporary Accommodation

Every child deserves a safe home, yet over 176,000 children in England are growing up in appalling temporary accommodation that destroys childhoods and claims lives.

The Conservatives’ failure on housing and ongoing inaction from Labour have created a national scandal, cramming families into damp, mouldy, rodent-infested rooms or windowless office conversions. Tragically, since 2019, at least 104 children have died with temporary housing as a factor - including over 70 infants under one who died from preventable causes like lacking basic cots in overcrowded rooms.

This is a moral outrage and a fundamental breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Liberal Democrats believe that no child should ever die because of where they live. Today, our members passed a new policy to end this tragedy and guarantee safe, decent housing for every family.

Our policy calls on the Government to:

• Publish a national strategy, with clear targets and timescales, to reduce and ultimately end the use of temporary accommodation for families with children backed by routine inspections against enforceable minimum standards.
   
• End unsafe placements outright including banning shared kitchen/bathroom facilities with single adults, requiring adequate cooking facilities in all family placements, and providing a cot or Moses basket for every child under two where safe sleeping provision isn't already in place.
   
• Treat child deaths linked to temporary accommodation as a matter of national urgency, and incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into domestic law so children's rights are enforceable, not aspirational.

Living in chaos and uncertainty severely damages a child’s health and future, with constant emergency moves directly harming their education. It is unacceptable that thousands of children are being forced into unsafe spaces.

We will not stand by while children pay for housing failure with their health and their lives. It is time to end the housing emergency, enforce basic human standards, and build a safe home for every child.