Poor housing highlighted as child health concern

Housing charity group Shelter have warned that poor housing is affecting the lives of over a million children in Britain.

Launching its largest ever campaign aimed at ending the "devastating impact of the housing crisis on over a million children in Britain", Shelter said that the poor standard of housing was "leading to serious health problems, poor education and emotional development wrecking their chances in life".

Launching its 'Million Children' campaign jointly in Glasgow and London, Shelter called on the UK government and the devolved regional administrations to commit to end bad housing provision for the next generation of children.

Liz Nicholson, Director of Shelter Scotland said: "Children are the hidden victims of Britain's growing housing crisis. Bad housing is impacting on the health, education and chances in life of over a million children in Britain. It is time for housing to be put back up the political agenda along with education and health, where it belongs.

"That's why in launching the Million Children campaign today, Shelter is calling on the public to support, and the Scottish Executive to commit to an end to bad housing for the next generation of children."

Highlighted at the campaign launch were:

• One in 12 children in Britain are more likely to develop diseases such as bronchitis or asthma because of bad housing;
• In Scotland, the number of children in danger of losing out on their education, because they live in appalling conditions or are moved from pillar to post, could fill almost 4,000 classrooms.

The campaign was launched along with the publication of 'Toying with their future', an expose to the housing crisis in Britain.

Over the next year, Shelter will carry out a national investigation into the long-term effects of bad housing on children.

The charity a million children in Britain are growing up in overcrowded, poor quality or emergency housing.

Last year's Barker Review commissioned by Chancellor Gordon Brown identified a shortfall of £1.6 billion a year. The report urged the construction of up 120,000 new homes a year to help alleviate the growing crisis in housing provision.

The report's author Kate Barker maintained that 23,000 homes would need to be built each year to begin to tackle to problems for the most needy in society.

The Deputy Prime Minister's office said that the government had set "clear targets" for housing and that considerable progress had been made in reducing the number of families forced to live in bed and breakfast accommodation and in bringing sociaol housing up to decent standards.

A spokesperson said that since 1997 much had been done to tackle the estimated £19 billion backlog of remedial repairs required to bring some housing up to "decent standards".

(SP)