Charity calls for ban on use of hotels with no kitchens to house families with children under five

Its campaign was launched earlier this year and has since gained nearly 2,500 signatures. It highlights the experience of families struggling to prepare meals in emergency housing with no cooking facilities for months on end. 

Mothers reported struggling to sterilise bottles and make up baby feeds, while weaning babies onto solids is near impossible due to a lack of choice of food, or having to buy ready-made food they cannot afford. 

The cost of buying ready-made food is high, and families reported suffering stomach upsets, weight loss and malnutrition.

The campaign calls on national government to provide immediate resources to support families with food vouchers, community kitchens and – where possible – rings, hobs or microwaves in their rooms.

By next Christmas, the charity wants government to allocate resources to local authority housing departments to ensure that no family has to live in a hotel without a kitchen for more than the six-week legal limit.

It said the “ultimate gift” would be to change legislation to ban the use of hotels with no kitchens to house families with children under five.

Jane Williams, founder and chief executive of The Magpie Project, said: “This issue is not just about food, it cannot be answered by microwaves in hotel rooms, or community kitchens. 

“It is an issue of choice, human dignity, the basic right to be able to cook and eat what you want when you want. 

“If you asked any five-year-old, let alone any adult, what a ‘home’ was they would certainly include a kitchen. So why does our government feel it is acceptable to house families without basic cooking facilities? 

“The lack of kitchens in accommodation is making our children sick in the short term, and putting their long term health at risk, too. What could be more fundamental, more obvious, more urgent than a home with a kitchen for all our children?”

The event is on Tuesday 21 May at 10am. 

Last year, a record 2,510 households with children were living in privately owned B&B accommodation for longer than the legal limit of six weeks.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “Temporary accommodation is a vital safety net to make sure families are not left without a roof over their heads, and most temporary accommodation has cooking facilities.

“Any long-term use of B&B accommodation without cooking facilities for families is inappropriate and unlawful, and households have the right to complain to the ombudsman. We’re supporting councils with £1.2bn to provide financial support to households who need it to find a secure home.”