Temporary accommodation linked to deaths of 104 children in England in six years

Living in temporary accommodation has contributed to the deaths of 104 children in England in the past six years, 76 of whom were under the age of one, according to data.

Statistics also show there were 64 stillbirths and 27 neonatal deaths involving mothers living in temporary accommodation (TA) in the UK in 2024. Experts say the housing crisis is pushing families into conditions that endanger their lives.

Siobhain McDonagh, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for households in temporary accommodation, which compiled the data, said she was appalled to see an increase in child deaths linked to TA, which has soared in use in recent years. It is estimated that 135,000 households are living in TA in England, including nearly 176,000 children.

“We should all be outraged by these figures,” McDonagh said. “We need urgent, sustained action to bring down the number of homeless children and to ensure that no family is left in conditions that put lives at risk. 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, ill-health or death.

Figures also showed that 140 children died with their main residence listed as TA between October 2023 and September 2025. Each of these will be subject to a formal death review process to find out whether TA was a contributing factor, so the 104 total could rise further.

Data collected for the first time by MBRRACE-UK, a research project into pregnancy-related deaths by the University of Oxford, found that out of 3,303 deaths of babies born between 1 January and 3 December 2024, at least 91 (3%) were to mothers living in TA.

Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, said the issue had become “a normalised emergency that rarely makes the headlines or the top of the government’s priority list”.

“But this, surely, must act 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. It’s deplorable and, crucially, avoidable.”

Dr Laura Neilson, the chief executive of the Shared Health Foundation, said the figures were “absolutely scandalous”.

“These deaths are not inevitable,” Neilson said. “They are the direct result of political choices, of systems that are not fit for purpose, and of a housing crisis that is pushing families into conditions that endanger their lives.

“This must be a turning point. Because if we continue to see these figures rise year after year, it will be because we have chosen to tolerate them. That is indefensible.”

The cross-party housing, communities and local government committee released a separate report concluding that families were living in TA that was “unfit for human habitation”.

Florence Eshalomi, a Labour MP and the chair of the committee, said too much TA was unsuitable for families, with no cooking facilities, no space for children to learn to walk or do their homework and hazards such as mould or rats. “It is truly devastating that this crisis has become a normalised emergency,” she said.

The committee criticised the government for failing to collect official data on the physical condition of TA, saying it was “spending more than ever on temporary accommodation without a good understanding of the quality of the provision this money is paying for”.

The report welcomed the government’s plans to apply Awaab’s law and the decent homes standard to TA, but warned it was not enough. Eshalomi said: “The government needs to act now. It’s crucial the government strengthens existing protections, including by carrying out regular inspections on the quality of accommodation.”

It called on the government to not only eliminate the use of B&Bs as TA by the end of the parliament, but to stop the use of all other types of shared accommodation, as well as requiring councils to carry out mandatory inspections.

Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said: “In the Child Poverty Strategy, we set out our commitment to do everything we can to eradicate unsuitable or poor-quality accommodation, and ensure children in temporary accommodation do not experience or gaps in health care provision.

“Alongside this, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will provide the strongest protections in a generation, making sure vulnerable children are identified, supported and never again allowed to fall through the cracks.”