Councils to have new legal duty to notify schools, health visitors and GPs when child placed in temporary accommodation

The Government said the legal duty, to be delivered through an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, will enable health and education providers to deliver a “more joined up approach” to support children experiencing homelessness.

Meanwhile, the Government said it will work with the NHS to end the practice of mothers with newborns being discharged to B&Bs or other forms of unsuitable housing, and end the unlawful placement of families in Bed and Breakfasts beyond the six-week limit.

The Department for Education (DfE) said: “To support this, the Government is investing £8 million in Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots in 20 local authorities that have the highest use of Bed and Breakfasts for homeless families – continuing the programme for the next three years.”

In England alone, more than 172,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.

Against this backdrop, the Government has announced plans to provide £950 million through the fourth round of the Local Authority Housing Fund from April 2026, to deliver up to 5,000 homes for better temporary accommodation by 2030.

Other interventions in the strategy include:

• More accessible childcare for working parents on Universal Credit.
• Helping families to buy more affordable infant formula.
• Removal of two-child benefit cap.

Responding to the publication of the national Child Poverty Strategy, Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said: “Councils want to work with government and partners to combat child poverty. We are pleased this strategy recognises the importance of integrating local services including housing, health, and family support to better meet the needs of disadvantaged children. We are also pleased to see national measures aimed at reducing in-work poverty and making it easier for parents to access childcare and progress in work, which will improve outcomes and alleviate pressure on local hardship support.

“The renewed emphasis on prevention in key areas including housing, social care, employment support and health, is a positive step. Councils will continue to work closely with government to identify ways in which integration and service reform can enable earlier intervention in the underlying causes of disadvantage.

“However, without additional investment in these services – and a recognition that councils still face high levels of immediate demand in many acute services – it is hard to see how we will be able to achieve the step change that is needed to reverse current trends successfully.”

Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “Removing the two-child limit is the single biggest opportunity to transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of children quickly, but alongside this headline there is much to be positive about: investment in safe homes for families facing homelessness, support for those with more than two children, and stopping children from being forced to live in B&B accommodation for lengthy periods – all things I have called for.

“There is also a welcome focus on improving the quality of temporary accommodation, where many children live in the most shocking, Dickensian conditions. Crucially, a new legal requirement for health, care and education services to be informed of these children’s circumstances means they should no longer be left to fend for themselves.”

She added: “If we are to end child poverty – not just reduce it – then we must continue to be ambitious for children’s lives. I want to see additional practical steps taken across the country, like free bus travel for school-age children, automatically enrolling eligible children for free school meals so none goes without and a constant focus on improving the public services children use by designing them to reflect their own experiences.”

Lottie Winson