Latest news with #SiobhainMcDonagh
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
MPs call for urgent action to end child deaths linked to temporary accommodation
Councils must be required to regularly inspect temporary accommodation for homeless families to prevent dangerous conditions contributing to more than one child death a month, MPs have said. In response to official data showing the state of some placements played a role in the deaths of 74 children in the last five years, a cross-party committee of MPs said it is 'appalling' that many councils do not conduct checks before placing families in such settings. The committee also highlighted that schools, GPs and other public bodies are often not notified when children become homeless or move schools after being placed in temporary accommodation, leaving them vulnerable to a lack of support and monitoring. A crisis in temporary accommodation in England has left record numbers of children without a permanent home and many are living in 'appalling conditions, with significant impacts to their health and education', the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said. The report highlights the damaging consequences of poor quality accommodation on the development, wellbeing, education and health of children, including the safeguarding risks of children and families sharing communal facilities with strangers – some of whom have a history of domestic abuse. The report also said some settings are blighted by 'egregious hazards', including damp and mould, excessive cold, mice infestations and overcrowding, leading to some older children sharing beds with their parents or siblings, and younger ones having limited space to crawl and learn to walk. The National Child Mortality Database, which is funded by the NHS, showed living conditions in temporary accommodation have contributed to the deaths 74 children in England, including 58 babies under the age of one. When the data was published in January, Dame Siobhain McDonagh, chairwoman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Households in Temporary Accommodation, described the figures as 'shocking'. The figures represented 'more than one (death) every month… in the fifth largest economy in the world', she added. The committee also highlighted rising costs to local councils of providing temporary accommodation, with local authorities spending a combined £2.29 billion in 2023/24. Hannah Dalton, housing spokeswoman for the District Councils' Network, said: 'This harrowing report exposes how the broken temporary accommodation system fails children – not just in the inner cities, but in all corners of the country where the shortage of affordable housing is having a dire impact. 'The shocking revelation that temporary accommodation has contributed to 74 children's deaths in five years demands immediate action. 'This crisis is not just devastating for families, it's making council finances unsustainable, with district council spending on temporary accommodation more than tripling in just five years.' The latest figures showed the number of children in temporary accommodation hit a record high of 164,040 as of the end of September. The number has risen 15% in a year and is the highest since records for this measure began in 2004. The number of households in temporary accommodation was also at a record high of 126,040, having increased 16% in a year. There were 5,400 households with children living in bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) by the end of September last year – a rise of 15% in a year. Some 3,470 households with children had been in B&Bs for more than the six-week limit. By law, B&Bs are meant to be used only for families in an emergency, and for no longer than six weeks. Florence Eshalomi, Labour chairwoman of the committee, said the Government must take urgent action to prevent further suffering and loss of life. She said: 'It is utterly shameful that so many families are living in B&Bs, bedsits and hotels that are completely unsuitable to their needs; having to travel for hours simply to get to school or work, not having basics like cots and radiator covers, not even having the space to learn to walk or crawl. 'Beyond the appalling impact on children and families, this crisis doesn't deliver value for money for taxpayers. 'Councils in London alone are spending £4 million a day on this form of accommodation, while billions are spent nationwide every year. That's why our solution to the housing crisis must include enough social housing and genuinely affordable homes to ensure every child has a permanent place to call home.' The committee also said the Government should introduce a new requirement for councils to notify a host authority before they place a family in their area. These placements are described as having 'a devastating impact on families, leaving them far from their extended family, friends, and support network, and causing disruption to children's education'. The local government and social care ombudsman should have sufficient resources and powers to investigate complaints about temporary accommodation and take appropriate action, the committee said as it noted a 'striking rise' in the number of families placed in B&B temporary accommodation for more than six weeks unlawfully. It also called on the Government to publish its strategy on ending homelessness by July 2025 to help ensure 'meaningful progress' towards tackling the crisis in temporary accommodation during this Parliament. Responding to the report, Matt Downie, chief executive of the charity Crisis, said it reveals the 'reality of our broken housing and homelessness system' and the 'profound and long-lasting impact' on people. He said that he agreed with the committee's view that the Government's decision to re-freeze housing benefit is a 'false economy' that will make renting unaffordable for more families and push them out of the private rented sector and into homelessness. Mr Downie added: 'To ensure fewer children grow up homeless the Westminster Government must restore housing benefit so that it reflects the true cost of renting and invest in the 90,000 social homes we need each year.' Adam Hug, housing spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: 'It is no secret that the scale of the challenge facing local government on temporary accommodation and homelessness – and the financial pressures – are immense. 'Government needs to use the upcoming Spending Review to ensure that councils are sufficiently resourced, including by urgently increasing the temporary accommodation subsidy.' A Government spokesperson said: 'These findings are shocking and that is why we are taking urgent action to fix the broken system we inherited, investing nearly £1 billion in homelessness services this year to help families trapped in temporary accommodation. 'Alongside this, we are developing a long-term strategy to tackle homelessness, driving up housing standards and delivering the biggest boost in social and affordable homes in a generation.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senior London Labour MP backs further inquiries into growing claims over Rachel Reeves CV and banking expenses
A senior London Labour MP backed further inquiries into growing claims over Rachel Reeves CV, time in banking and expenses and Morden MP Dame Siobhain McDonagh believes such further probing is inevitable after a BBC investigation claimed there was at least an initial inquiry into the expenses of Ms Reeves and two other staff when she worked for Halifax Bank of Scotland.'There is no point not wanting it because it's going to happen,' Dame Siobhain told BBC Politics she added: 'I have known Rachel Reeves for a very long time and I would say that she is one of the most hard-working, honest politicians I have ever met in a long career.'She stressed: 'First of all we have to be sure about what happened with the expenses scandal.'As far as I'm aware she absolutely denies that she was approached by anybody about the expenses scandal.'
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Temporary housing linked to deaths of at least 74 children
Temporary accommodation has contributed to the deaths of at least 74 children in England in the last five years, official data shows. Figures from the NHS-funded National Child Mortality Database reveal that 58 of those children were babies under the age of one. Dame Siobhain McDonagh, MP and chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation, said the figures were "shocking". They represented "more than one [death] every month… in the fifth largest economy in the world", she added. Housing Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the government would fix the system by allocating £1bn to councils to provide "safe, secure and stable housing". The report found that child deaths were more likely to occur when homelessness was combined with overcrowding, mould and a lack of access to safer sleep options, such as cots and Moses baskets. Last year, government guidance was changed, recommending local authorities to help homeless families to access cots for children under the age of two. However, Dame Siobhain said the guidance "needs to be made law to ensure that deaths in temporary accommodation are zero". A record 123,000 families are living in temporary housing in England. Temporary accommodation covers anything that isn't a permanent home and is organised by the local authority. It can include hotels, hostels, caravans, holiday parks, or flats and houses. Families often face multiple moves while homeless. Danielle from West London contacted the BBC about her concerns of being housed in a hotel for the last four months when she was evicted from her flat, because the owner wanted to sell. "It doesn't surprise me that there's children dying in these conditions when they're not equipped for families to be there," she says. She has to walk through a car park to get to a kitchen to cook and says the sleeping arrangement in her room was unsafe when she first moved in. Initially, she says she and her three children had to share two double beds in a 14ft x 10ft (4.3m x 3m) room. But that left her "constantly worried" and checking on her children, who are now one, three and six years old. Danielle has since bought bunk beds for her older children and has a travel cot for one-year-old Cameron - but says there are other concerns about such a long stay in a hotel, where she has to wash plates in the shower. "I have to be very diligent, making sure there's no mould because of all the bodies in the room." Since they have been housed more than four miles (6.4km) from her children's school, she says the journey there can take up almost two hours. She says she has to stay out in the cold for most of the day until she picks them up. Danielle believes living in these conditions is potentially damaging the health of her children, who she says are "constantly getting ill". Ealing Council said there had been "unprecedented" numbers of residents reaching out to ask for help with emergency housing and that 7,000 local families were on the waiting list for social homes. "We are working hard to drive down the numbers of people in temporary accommodation," the council said. A spokesman said the council was rapidly moving people from hotels into B&Bs and looking to get them into more suitable accommodation. London social housing waiting lists at decade high 'I may have to sofa surf with my six children' 'Constant stress': Families tell BBC of life in limbo due to housing crisis Dr Laura Neilson, chief executive of Shared Health, an organisation that works with homeless families, has been instrumental in uncovering the statistics on child deaths. She says the "deeply upsetting" findings are unsurprising and that the situation is "preventable and fixable". Homeless children are at risk because of "lots of vulnerabilities" coming together, she adds. "We know that if you repeatedly move a child or baby, place them in accommodation without a cot or cooking facilities, and disconnect a family from support, the chance of death is increased. "The result is the deaths of 74 children that, outside of temporary accommodation, would still be alive." The exact cause of the deaths of each child has not been published, but the data has been obtained from the reviews of every child death in England where a panel of experts - made up of doctors, pathologists and social workers - have named temporary accommodation as a contributing factor. Dr Neilson believes the impact on the health of homeless children is bigger than the data suggests and that the current data is likely an "underestimate". Separately, a report published on Friday, found almost 6,000 households with children were being housed in a B&B, of which almost 4,000 had been there for longer than the statutory six-week limit. Chloe, 23, from Oldham, became homeless while pregnant and began sofa-surfing until she was placed in a hostel. She and her daughter Evie, now aged six weeks old, have been placed in hotels by her council. She says there are no cooking or sterilising facilities and she feels vulnerable and frightened. "It's mainly because of the noise and you don't know who you is around. "Especially as a single mum with a newborn baby, your senses are heightened, and that thought that someone could come in to the hotel room is the worst feeling ever, it makes it difficult to sleep." Angela Rayner added: "We will fix the current system that has left far too many families trapped in temporary accommodation with no end in sight and end homelessness for good by tackling the root causes and driving up housing standards."
The Guardian
27-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Temporary accommodation possible factor in deaths of 74 children in England
Temporary accommodation has been cited as a possible contributing factor in the deaths of 74 children – predominantly babies – in recent years in England. Of those who died between April 2019 and March last year, 58 were aged under one, the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for households in temporary accommodation said. Temporary accommodation can include bed and breakfasts, hotels and hostels and is often supplied by councils. Between October 2023 and September last year, 80 children died while living in temporary housing, according to the National Child Mortality Database – accounting for 3% of the total number of child deaths during that period. Dame Siobhain McDonagh, a Labour MP and chair of the APPG, said: 'Seventy-four children have died in five years with temporary accommodation contributing to their death. 'That is more than one every month. How shocking is that? In the fifth largest economy in the world. 'Last year, the APPG chair was successful in getting the homelessness code of guidance changed to include cots for homeless families. This guidance needs to be made law to ensure that deaths in temporary accommodation is zero.' The child death overview panel (CDOP) process assesses circumstances of such deaths, including whether temporary accommodation was a contributing factor. The APPG said there was a disproportionate number of children from deprived areas represented in the figures. Children from non-white families were also overrepresented, accounting for 38% of deaths across the five-year period despite making up only 27% of the population. The Big Issue founder, Lord John Bird, said the figures were 'a shameful tragedy'. The cross-bench peer is setting out a private member's bill in the House of Lords this week for the establishment of a 'Ministry for Poverty Prevention'. There were 123,100 households in England in temporary accommodation in the three months to the end of June 2024, a rise of 16.3% on the same period the previous year, according to figures published in December by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. There were 159,380 children in temporary accommodation between April and June 2024. Last year, figures showed that residing in temporary accommodation was a factor in the unexpected deaths of 55 children between April 2019 and March 2023. The deputy prime minister and housing secretary, Angela Rayner, said: 'These truly shocking findings break my heart. 'We will fix the current system that has left far too many families trapped in temporary accommodation with no end in sight and end homelessness for good by tackling the root causes and driving up housing standards.' In 2022, a coroner ruled that damp and mould was the cause of the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak in a Rochdale social housing flat in 2020.
The Independent
27-01-2025
- Health
- The Independent
80 homeless children died while living in temporary accommodation last year, new figures show
Eighty children died while living in temporary accommodation in England last year, shocking new figures that highlight the impact of homelessness have revealed. Analysis from a group of MPs also shows that, over the past five years, 74 children have died with temporary accommodation listed as a possible contributing factor to their vulnerability, ill health or death. Fifty-eight of these children were aged under one, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation found. Dame Siobhain McDonagh, chair of the APPG, described the figures as 'shocking'. Big Issue founder Lord John Bird, said the numbers were 'a shameful tragedy' as he called on the government to 'urgently move away from this sticking plaster solution to homelessness'. In total between October 2023 and September last year, 80 children died while living in temporary accommodation such as hotels and B&Bs, according to the National Child Mortality Database. This accounted for three per cent of the total number of child deaths during that period. Dr Laura Neilson, chief executive of Shared Health, which examines the impact of poverty on people's health, said: 'We know that if you repeatedly move a child or baby, place them in accommodation without a cot or cooking facilities and disconnect a family from support, the chance of death is increased. 'The result is the deaths of 74 children that, outside of temporary accommodation, would still be alive.' The Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) process assesses the circumstances of such deaths, including whether temporary accommodation was a contributing factor. The APPG said there was a disproportionate number of children from deprived areas represented in the figures, while children from non-white families were also over-represented, accounting for 38 per cent of deaths across the five-year period despite making up only 27 per cent of the population. Dame Siobhain added: 'Seventy-four children have died in five years with temporary accommodation contributing to their death. That is more than one every month. How shocking is that? In the fifth largest economy in the world. 'Last year, the APPG I chair was successful in getting the Homelessness Code of Guidance changed to include cots for homeless families. This guidance needs to be made law to ensure that deaths in temporary accommodation is zero.' The latest official figures, published in December by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), showed there were 123,100 households in England in temporary accommodation in the three months to the end of June 2024 - a rise of 16.3 per cent on the same period the previous year. There were 159,380 children in temporary accommodation between April and June 2024, those statistics showed. Deputy prime minister and secretary of state for housing, Angela Rayner, said: 'These truly shocking findings break my heart. No family should ever have to endure such a tragic loss of life and be failed by the very system there to protect them. 'No child should be forced to grow up in unsafe and frankly appalling conditions and that is why we are taking urgent action to right the wrongs of the past. 'We will fix the current system that has left far too many families trapped in temporary accommodation with no end in sight and end homelessness for good by tackling the root causes and driving up housing standards. 'This year alone we are providing the largest-ever cash boost in homelessness prevention services, with nearly £1 billion for councils, to stop families becoming homeless in the first place and provide them with safe, secure and stable housing so they can rebuild their lives. This is part of our long-term plan to turn the tide and end homelessness once and for all.'
