Labour attack Cameron over 'soaring levels of homelessness'

Thousands more children face a Christmas in a hostel or sleeping on the streets since David Cameron took the keys to No 10, Labour has warned.

The number of homeless households has risen by more than a third in England since 2010, according to Labour figures.

The party said the number of homeless is on course to have nearly doubled by the next general election and accused the Prime Minister of presiding over a "crisis" in homelessness.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said there had been "five years of failure on homelessness under this Government".

According to Labour analysis of Government figures, the number of homeless households will rise to around 75,000 by 2020 on current trends, up from 40,020 in the final financial year of the last Labour government and 54,430 in 2014/15.

Latest figures show that there were 2,744 rough sleepers last year, up from 1,768 in the year the coalition was formed. That is estimated to rise to just under 5,000 by 2020, the party said.

By the end of the parliament, the number of children in temporary accommodation, such as hostels, is predicted to rise to more than 100,000, up from 80,603 in 2009/10 and 90,335 in 2014/15.