Nearly 45,000 households had nowhere to live in the three months to December last year, official figures show

The number of people being made homeless jumped by 16% in the final three months of last year, according to the latest government figures, which laid bare the scale of the country’s housing crisis.

Figures published by the government on Tuesday show nearly 45,000 households in England were assessed as homeless in the three months to December, up from just under 39,000 during the same period in 2022.

The figures also show the number of people – including children – in temporary accommodation hit record levels in 2023, triggering warnings of a housing “emergency”.

Mike Amesbury, the shadow minister for homelessness, said: “These stats reveal a growing Tory housing emergency being felt by families in every part of the country. Over the past 14 years, the Tories have taken a wrecking ball to the foundation of a secure home, leaving Britain facing a homelessness epidemic.