No space to crawl, play or use a potty: why are thousands of young children living in B&Bs? | Katharine Swindells

By: Katharine Swindells

24 May 2024 at 07:00

The government knows this accommodation is unsafe and potentially even deadly. Its inaction is scandalous

Parenting a young child is difficult enough. But imagine taking care of a baby inside a single bedroom shared with two or three older siblings. The bathroom and kitchen are communal, so you either have to carry the child with you or lock them in the bedroom. When you need to wash yet another set of the baby’s clothes or sterilise their bottle, you must do so using a tiny sink and a kettle in your bedroom.

That is what one woman told me it is like living in a temporary accommodation hostel with her young children in England. When I interviewed her, she detailed how, in the first months of bringing up her newborn son, she worried for his safety and health, specifically because of that accommodation. Her story is not unique: a recent investigation by my colleagues at Inside Housing found more than 35,000 households like hers, living in temporary accommodation with children under five across England, Scotland and Wales in 2023.

Katharine Swindells is the deputy features editor at Inside Housing

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