Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the proportion of temporary accommodation declared unfit for human habitation; and what estimate he has made of the number of children living in such temporary accommodation in each of the last three years.

Local authorities have a duty to ensure that any accommodation provided for a homeless household under the homelessness legislation must be suitable.

Local authorities also have strong and effective powers to deal with poor quality unsafe accommodation. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), assesses the health and safety risks in all residential properties. If a property is found to contain serious (category 1) hazards, the local authority has a duty to take the most appropriate action. We expect local authorities to use these powers which provide an important safety net, ensuring that homes are safe and decent.

DCLG publishes regular statistics, which includes the number of children in temporary accommodation. The latest statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/homelessness-statistics.