Children living in overcrowded housing are twice as likely to say their health is “not good” compared to those living in under-occupied houses, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS survey is based on information from the 2011 census and says that there were 1.1 million overcrowded households in the UK. The study shows young people under 16 living in overcrowded housing are twice as likely to say their health is “not good” compared to those young people who are in under-occupied housing.

The impact on a child’s health is just one of the reasons why Home-Start has put ensuring that children have access to safe places to live and play as priority one in our first manifesto, All Our Children.

According to local Home-Starts in England 81% of those who responded reported that not all of the vulnerable families they support have safe places to live and play.

The ONS report said: “In every region the percentages of ‘not good’ health in overcrowded households was more than twice that in under-occupied households, demonstrating the importance of personal living space to health among children.”

Rob Parkinson, chief executive of Home-Start UK said, “This study reinforces the absolutely critical importance to the health of children and parents of good, safe housing. It is why we were right to include it at the heart of our first manifesto, because we won’t create secure, happy families until we deal with the issues of people living in unsuitable houses.”

Home-Start’s manifesto calls for children to be put at the heart of policy making. We have focused on providing practical solutions to enable local people to support vulnerable families in three key areas:

• providing safe housing and places to play,
• supporting children with a parent suffering from a mental illness,
• ensuring children are well nourished and protected from hunger and poor nutrition.