UK child homelessness 'worst in the world'

Children in the UK are worse off than in any other wealthy country in the world, according to a report from the United Nations.

The UK came last in a survey of the wellbeing of children and adolescents in the 21 richest countries measured by Unicef, the United Nations' children's organisation.

The Unicef team assessed factors such as material wellbeing, health and safety, and educational attainment.

They found that UK children had the highest rates of ill-health, and the highest proportion in the world from families where no one was working. The high infant mortality rates were singled out as a national disgrace.

Child poverty - a measure of how far their standard of living fell behind the national average - was among the worst, and double what it was in 1997. Homelessness among children was at a record compared to other countries.

Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said the report showed that we were failing a generation of children.

The fact that one in seven of them was growing up homeless or badly housed was reflected in Unicef's findings.

'If the government is really committed to improving the lives of children and reaching it's 2020 poverty target, it must provide every child in Britain with a safe, affordable, permanent home,' Mr Sampson declared.

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Source: Shelter