Child poverty strategy includes measures for children living in temporary accommodation

Launching the policy in Wales, prime minister Keir Starmer said: “Every child deserves the best possible start in life, with their future no longer determined by the circumstances of their birth.

“Yet too many children are growing up in poverty, held back from getting on in life, and too many families are struggling without the basics: a secure home, warm meals and the support they need to make ends meet.”

The government will invest £8m in emergency accommodation reduction pilots across 20 councils with the highest use of B&Bs for homeless families, and has committed to continue the programme for the next three years. It promised to end the use of B&B placements for families beyond the six-week limit, which is already unlawful, but often happens nonetheless.

The government will also put £950m into the local authority housing fund from April 2026, which it said will deliver 5,000 “high-quality homes for temporary accommodation”.

Councils will also have a new legal duty to notify schools, health visitors and GPs when a child is placed in temporary accommodation, introduced through an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The strategy also includes a promise the government will “work with” the NHS to stop mothers with newborn babies being discharged to B&Bs or other unsuitable accommodation.

Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the strategy had “a welcome focus on improving the quality of temporary accommodation, where many children live in the most shocking, Dickensian conditions”.

She added: “Crucially, a new legal requirement for health, care and education services to be informed of these children’s circumstances means they should no longer be left to fend for themselves.”

Homelessness charity Crisis also welcomed the measures, but highlighted the need for more information in the forthcoming homelessness strategy.

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Measures to ensure that hospitals aren’t discharging mothers with newborn babies into poor-quality housing have the potential to save lives, as we know young children have tragically died in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

“What we need to see – and what we hope will be set out in the upcoming homelessness strategy – is a plan to tackle the underlying causes that are pushing children into homelessness at record-high levels.

“We hope that the homelessness strategy will sit alongside this new approach to tackling child poverty and begin to address some of the systemic failures that have brought us to this place.”

The Chartered Institute of Housing issued a statement welcoming the changes, while adding that the overall benefit cap will limit the impact of changes to benefits eligibility for families with more than two children.

The statement said: “With so few social homes available, one of the only ways to escape homelessness is if a family can afford to pay a private rent. But the freeze on Local Housing Allowance is trapping families in temporary accommodation, often miles from school, family and support networks.

“Unfreezing housing benefit is essential to help families move on and rebuild their lives.”