Nearly half (46%) of all households in temporary accommodation in London are accommodated out of area, according to Shelter. The housing charity said 34,280 households were being housed outside of London.
Labour has pledged to deliver a long-term cross-government homelessness strategy to plot how it tackles the issue, alongside a child poverty strategy.
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Tragically we have now become totally accustomed to seeing record levels of children growing up in temporary accommodation. We are talking about children with no space to play, no place to do homework, no safe, stable place to call home. So we have to ask, as living costs increase and the supply of social homes recedes, when this will end.
“The truth is that only the Westminster government can stop this with an ambitious homelessness strategy. It’s essential this helps councils coordinate efforts and plan longer term.”
The official homelessness did, however, show a fall in the number of households approaching councils for support with homelessness.
A total of 86,370 households had an initial homelessness assessment from a local authority over the three-month period, down 6.7% on a year earlier. From these initial assessments, 78,630 were assessed as owed a duty to prevent or relieve homelessness.
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The 36,160 households assessed as at risk of falling into homelessness fell 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year.
There was also a decrease in the number of households falling into homelessness after losing their home to a no-fault eviction as Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill stands at the brink of coming into law.
A total of 6,530 private-renting households were threatened with homelessness after receiving a section 21 notice – a decrease of 8.7% from the same quarter last year.
Rick Henderson, CEO at Homeless Link, the membership body for homelessness services, said: “The latest data has brought some positive news, with fewer households owed support to prevent or relieve homelessness than the same time last year.
“We are calling on our government to take more comprehensive action so that the vicious cycle of homelessness and rough sleeping can be ended for good. Each government department must take responsibility for identifying and delivering on actions to prevent and end homelessness.”
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But the continued homelessness crisis is having a big impact on families in particular.
The number of homeless households in the most unsuitable forms of emergency accommodation – including B&Bs, hostels and other nightly paid placements – has increased by 13.1% in a year to 70,010.
Meanwhile, one in five families with children living in temporary accommodation in England – and a third of families in temporary accommodation in London – have been there for five or more years.
Jess McQuail, director of Just Fair, a UK charity working to defend and promote economic, social and cultural rights, said the situation calls for the UK to adopt a human right to housing.
“These figures are a national disgrace. Behind every statistic is a child spending nights in a B&B, travelling miles to school, or growing up without the stability of a home. This is not inevitable, it is a political choice,” said McQuail.
“Housing is a human right, recognised in international law. When 170,000 children are denied that right, their other rights, to health, education, and family life, are undermined. Labour promised to fix the housing crisis, but these numbers show they are failing to deliver.”
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Several homelessness charities, including Crisis, The Salvation Army and Shelter, have called on the government to announce that local housing allowance will be raised at next month’s autumn budget to help low-income households on housing benefits cover record-high private rents.
The Renters’ Reform Coalition also called for ministers to cap rent increases and a National Affordable Renting Commission as an answer to rents rising above wages and wider inflation.
Nick Redmore, director of The Salvation Army’s homeless services, said: “The freeze on housing benefit is driving families deeper into poverty and homelessness with harmful consequences for their children. The rising demand and cost of providing them with temporary accommodation is also pushing local authorities to the brink financially.
“The coming months present a critical opportunity for government action. Ending the housing benefit freeze in the autumn budget and finally publishing the long-promised homelessness strategy could, at last, bring about meaningful change.”
Last week, the Labour government announced an extra £84 million to tackle homelessness, funding support to help children and families in temporary accommodation with essentials like food costs, school travel and laundry. The cash will also go towards preventing people from sleeping rough and towards drug and alcohol services.
“Prevention is the best way forward when it comes to breaking the cycle of homelessness. As Lord Bird, founder of Big Issue, has said, we need long-term thinking and not sticking plaster solutions if we’re to deliver on this promise,” said homelessness minister Alison McGovern in a piece written for Big Issue on World Homeless Day.
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“It’s this government’s approach to the big challenges that face us, and the kind of country we want to be.
“The homelessness crisis we’ve inherited is a painful reminder of how politics can fail people. But the chance for more people to fulfil their potential and have real chances and choices in life gives me hope.”
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