By Mel Nowicki and Katherine Brickell, authors of Debt Trap Nation: Family Homelessness in a Failing State.

It’s no secret that England is a country in housing crisis. Homelessness records are continually being broken. Last year, 1,611 homeless people died, a 9% increase from the previous year, and a record-breaking 131,141 households, including 170,000 children, are currently homeless and living in temporary accommodation – a 12% jump in just one year.

It’s also no secret that local authorities are cash-strapped and are struggling to keep up with the soaring costs of housing people in temporary accommodation, including in hotel rooms and B&Bs. Local authorities in England are spending a staggering £2.8 billion per year on temporary accommodation. In London, the epicentre of the temporary accommodation crisis, that spend is up to £5.5 million per day.

And yet, what remains under the radar are how local authorities themselves contribute to increasing numbers of families stuck living in temporary accommodation.

Read the full article from HQM here.