Temporary Accommodation: Children

To reduce the use of out of area placements, we must tackle the root causes of homelessness and reduce the number of families in temporary accommodation. To do this we must build more homes, including through the new 10-year £39 billion Social and Affordable Homes Programme.

Legislation and statutory guidance is clear that local authorities should, wherever possible, place homeless households within their own area. If this is not possible, they should secure accommodation as close as possible to where the household was previously living. When placements outside the area are unavoidable, local authorities are expected to minimise disruption to children’s education and maintain established links with schools and other services in order to promote their welfare.

The National Plan to End Homelessness sets out our commitment to taking action on out of area placements and driving out unsuitable practice. This includes through developing a Temporary Accommodation Toolkit and a requirement for areas to publish and keep updated a homelessness action plan, which will include how they will procure and allocate temporary accommodation, mitigate any disruption in support and services, and ensure that any placements are suitable – including those out of area. The Plan also reinforces our long-term ambition to reduce the number of days lost at school for children living in temporary accommodation, and to improve transparency so that targeted support can be provided more effectively.

Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act, we have introduced a new duty on councils to notify schools, health visitors and GP practices when a child is placed in temporary accommodation. This will strengthen information sharing so that educational institutions and health providers are aware where children may require additional or different support.