More than 160,000 children in the UK are currently experiencing homelessness, the vast majority living in temporary accommodation. While the term suggests short-term crisis support, for many families this housing becomes a prolonged reality. Households with children frequently spend years in temporary accommodation, with families reporting an average stay of 4.5 years. What is intended as an emergency measure has become a long-term substitute for stable housing.

For some families, conditions are extreme. Thousands of children are placed in bed-and-breakfast (B&B) accommodation each year: housing legally intended only for emergency use. Families may spend weeks or months in a single room with shared facilities, without space to cook, study, or play. These environments are associated with high stress, disrupted sleep, and emotional distress, particularly for young children.

Even outside B&B placements, conditions are often unsafe or unsuitable. An estimated 75% of families in temporary accommodation are placed in housing that fails to meet basic quality standards. Overcrowding, damp, and unsafe environments are common. Children growing up in these conditions experience chronic instability at a stage of life when routine, safety, and space to learn are essential.

The impact on development is profound. Housing insecurity disrupts early childhood growth, undermines emotional wellbeing, and interrupts education. One in three children living in temporary accommodation has missed more than a month of school due to their housing situation, accounting for over 10% of the academic year. Frequent moves, long journeys, and unsuitable living conditions make consistent attendance difficult and limit access to support. This instability also translates into poorer educational outcomes later in life: children who experience multiple moves are significantly less likely to achieve five GCSEs when compared to children growing up in stable homes.  

All of this occurs while government spending on temporary accommodation continues to rise. In 2024–25, councils in England spent a record £2.8 billion on temporary accommodation, a 25% increase in a single year. Despite this escalating cost, the system increasingly manages crisis rather than preventing it, leaving children trapped in environments that undermine their development while public resources are stretched to breaking point.

A Practical Intervention: Personalised Budgets

Greater Change’s personalised budgets are designed to remove the immediate barriers keeping families stuck in temporary accommodation or at risk of entering it. These targeted, supported cash transfers are tailored to individual circumstances and delivered quickly, recognising that timing is often the difference between stability and crisis.

Budgets can cover essential costs such as securing a tenancy, stabilising a move, or enabling children to remain in school during periods of transition. By resolving practical obstacles at the right moment, personalised budgets shorten stays in temporary accommodation and reduce the cumulative harm experienced by children.

The approach complements statutory provision by adding flexibility where rigid systems struggle to respond. Small, timely investments prevent far greater public costs. In 2025, 85% of households supported by Greater Change sustained or moved into stable accommodation. At an average cost of £1,397 per household, personalised budgets deliver an estimated 25x return on investment through reduced reliance on temporary accommodation and other public services.

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