Almost 70,000 children will wake up on Christmas Day in temporary accommodation, without a home to call their own, says Shelter.

The number of households declared homeless so far this year is up by 13 per cent from the same period last year, according to Government figures out today.

Over 80 per cent of local authorities questioned in a new survey agree that more guidance is needed to help them accurately estimate local housing requirements.

Average private rents are unaffordable for ordinary working families in over half of local authorities in England, new research from Shelter reveals.