On the streets of Manchester and Salford, a 'national crisis' is underway

The streets of Greater Manchester are facing an 'acute' crisis. According to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, it's 'nothing short of a national scandal'.

A record number of children are homeless and living in temporary accommodation in our region - as Manchester faces one of the highest rates outside of London, figures show.

The data paints a bleak picture across the region, as it revealed that 7,679 children across Greater Manchester were living in temporary accommodation at the end of March this year, in what Labour have called a “national scandal”. The figure is up 19 per cent from March 2023, and is at the highest level since records began in 2004.

It means that there are now around 11 homeless kids living in temporary accommodation for every 1,000 children under the age of 18 in Greater Manchester - but in Manchester and Salford the rate is much higher.

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In Manchester, 4,243 kids were living in temporary accommodation in March, or 33 for every 1,000 children in the city. The figure is twice as high as anywhere else in our region - and has been branded 'bleak' by a leading charity.

Salford has the next-highest rate, with 15 children in temporary accommodation for every 1,000 kids. At the other end Stockport has the lowest rate with just 138 children living in temporary housing, two for every 1,000.

It comes as national figures also reached an all-time high, with 151,630 children across England living in temporary accommodation - up 15 per cent from 2023.

Thousands of these vulnerable children are staying in emergency accommodation such as B&Bs and hostels - which are notoriously overcrowded, expensive and unsuitable for