Shelter: 'Government has broken promise to tackle overcrowding'

The Government has reneged on its commitment to update the 1935 overcrowding standard, housing charity Shelter claimed today.

In a response to more than 2,000 signatories of a Shelter petition, the Government has said it will not update the overcrowding standard, as promised in 2004, until “the right processes are in place to support overcrowded households”.

The Government’s response comes as latest figures reveal the number of households in overcrowding has risen to more than 650,000, the highest level for over 14 years.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Overcrowding is a huge blight on children’s lives, with devastating consequences for their health, education and future chances.

"It is simply unacceptable for this antiquated standard to remain in place, allowing kitchens and living rooms to be considered as acceptable places for children to sleep.

“After six years in which the Government has failed to keep its promise, we urgently need a uniform statutory standard for England which delivers a modern understanding of space and privacy, together with significant resources to end this hidden part of our housing crisis.”

“Investment in health and education is a false economy if children are being brought up in cramped conditions, more vulnerable to health problems and unable to find space to do their homework.”

Part of the Government’s defence for failing to update the standard is that it has provided £15 million over three years to support local authorities to tackle overcrowding. Yet this equates to only £32 a year for each overcrowded family in the social rented sector.

The Government response also highlighted its commitment to ensure that a third of new affordable homes over the next year have three or more bedrooms.

But Shelter is warning that with house building at its lowest level since 1946 and less than a quarter (23%) of affordable homes built last year being family-sized, this target could take much longer to achieve.

Mr Robb added: “Shelter is calling on all political parties to make tackling overcrowding a priority in the next parliament. This means urgently updating the standard, delivering significantly more family-sized homes, and increasing funding to stop the terrible impact overcrowding has on children’s lives.”

Conservative Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "These shocking overcrowding stats are indicative of this Government's utter failure to build the homes the country needs - for instance they've built fewer social homes every year than under the last two Conservative Governments while the social housing waiting list has soared to 1.8 million families.
 
"At the same time, the Government's misguided density targets have resulted in an explosion in the number of flats built compared to family homes, they need to follow our lead, scrap their headline-grabbing targets and give power back to local communities."

Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Teather said: “Labour’s betrayal of the hundreds of thousands of families stuck in cramped conditions is frankly unforgivable.
 
“Overcrowding means children unable to do their homework, and families falling apart due to the stress of living on top of each other. 
 
“Labour has left us right back where we were under the last Conservative Government.  We urgently need to bringing many more homes back into use and update the outdated rules on overcrowding.
 
“People should not be condemned to homes more suitable for battery hens.” 

Picture courtesy of Shelter.