MORE than a dozen homeless children in north and west Cumbria are being housed in temporary accommodation, new figures show.

Data released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government show that 40 households in the Cumberland Council area were living in temporary accommodation as of the end of March 2024.

Among the households, 15 residents were children.

The government described the homelessness crisis as a 'national scandal' as the number of children living in temporary accommodation hit a record high.

Nationally, a record 120,000 households were living in temporary accommodation.

Meanwhile, the number of children rose by 15 per cent, surpassing 150,000 and reaching the highest figure since records began in 2004.

Temporary accommodation is a form of homelessness and can include people living in hostels or hotels.

Lord Bird, founder of the Big Issue, which is sold by homeless people, described the latest figures as 'appalling' and warned that 'another winter looms' and there’s 'little being done to turn this terrible tide'.

He added: "The time for nebulous homelessness taskforces and woolly cross-government strategies is over.

"This is an urgent and immediate crisis, on which our new government must act now."

In the Cumberland Council area, eight households were living in B&Bs as of March.

READ MORE: More homeless households in Carlisle than 2022

By law, B&Bs are meant to be used only for families in an emergency and for no longer than six weeks.

But across England, the number of households with children exceeding that timeframe has rocketed by 80 per cent from 1,810 in 2023 to 3,250 this year - none of these were in the Cumberland Council area.

Chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, Polly Neate, said: "Without a clear plan to invest in genuinely affordable social homes, thousands more children will be forced to grow up in damaging temporary accommodation, spending months if not years living out of suitcases, crammed into grim bedsits and B&Bs, and unable to put down any roots."

Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said: "We are facing the most acute housing crisis in living memory and homelessness remains at record levels.

"This is nothing short of a national scandal. Urgent action must be taken to fix this.

"That’s why we are working across government and with local leaders to develop a long-term strategy to end homelessness for good."