England: More than 100 child deaths since 2019 linked to temporary accommodation

The findings, published today by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Households in Temporary Accommodation, draw on updated data from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) and, for the first time, stillbirth and neonatal death data from MBRRACE‑UK. Together, they paint the clearest picture yet of how homelessness, poverty and unsafe housing conditions intersect with child mortality.

The report lands as the number of children living in TA reaches a record high. Government figures released in February show 175,990 children were in temporary accommodation at the end of September, a 7% rise in a single year.

According to the APPG’s analysis, 104 child deaths between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2025 where temporary accommodation was identified as a contributing factor. 76 of these children were under one year old.

Between October 2023 and September 2025, 140 children who died had their usual residence recorded as temporary accommodation, almost 2% of all child deaths in that period.

Of 3,303 stillbirths and neonatal deaths in 2024, 91 babies were born to mothers who were homeless or living in temporary accommodation during pregnancy.

The APPG notes that these figures may rise further as Child Death Overview Panels complete assessments on whether housing conditions contributed to the deaths.

The data follows changes introduced in October 2023 requiring CDOPs to record whether a child lived in temporary accommodation—an amendment secured through collaboration between the APPG, its co‑secretariats and the NCMD.

Across the cases examined, temporary accommodation rarely acted in isolation. The report highlights poverty, deprivation and racial inequalities as recurring factors that compound risk and undermine children’s health and safety.

Conditions in TA, often overcrowded, damp, unsafe or lacking basic facilities, are repeatedly cited as drivers of ill‑health. A separate report published today by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee warns that some temporary accommodation is “so poor as to be unfit for human habitation”.

Call for urgent action

The findings have prompted strong reactions from across the housing and health sectors.

Dame Siobhain McDonagh, chair of the APPG, said she was “appalled” by the continued rise in deaths linked to temporary accommodation, adding: “We should all be outraged by these figures.”

Dr Laura Neilson, chief executive of the Shared Health Foundation, described the deaths as “absolutely scandalous”, saying:

“These deaths are not inevitable. They are the direct result of political choices and systems that are not fit for purpose.”

Homelessness charity Crisis said the report must serve as a “wake‑up call”. Chief executive Matt Downie warned that temporary accommodation has become “a normalised emergency”, with families trapped for months or years in unsafe conditions.

He added that only building the long‑promised social homes and restoring housing benefit to realistic levels will “turn the tide”.

Shelter called it a “national scandal for any child to die homeless in this country”.

Homelessness minister Alison McGovern said it “breaks her heart” that B&Bs are contributing to child deaths, pointing to commitments in the government’s child poverty strategy to eradicate poor‑quality accommodation and end unlawful long‑term B&B placements.

An £8 million pilot programme across 20 local authorities is set to continue for three more years, aimed at reducing the number of families placed in B&Bs beyond the six‑week legal limit.

Policy recommendations

The APPG report sets out a series of recommendations for national and local government, including:

• Ensuring families in TA have access to safe sleeping spaces, including cots—something the APPG warns is still not routine practice.
• Strengthening protections against poor housing conditions and phasing out unsuitable accommodation, such as placements with shared facilities.
• Increasing the supply of genuinely affordable social homes.
• Restoring housing benefit rates to reflect real rental costs.
• Improving data collection and oversight to ensure risks are identified earlier.

With child homelessness at record levels and temporary accommodation increasingly unsafe, the report concludes that the deaths of more than 100 children represent a systemic failure, not isolated tragedies.

As Dr Neilson put it: “Every number represents a child who has died, a future lost, and a family left to carry that grief for the rest of their lives.”