Research Commissioned by and Undertaken with 4in10

Our Research

4in10 conduct a range of research on topics relating to child poverty in London. This research is either commissioned by 4in10, or directly undertaken by 4in10 itself. Our research priorities are to produce robust evidence and findings which is beneficial for our members and to also support and produce research on subjects we are made aware of by our members. Please get in touch if you’d like to know our current research plans.

Calling 4in10 Members!

If you are a 4in10 member, and you are interested in conducting research on an area linked to child poverty – get in touch with 4in10 to see how we may be able to enable or support you!

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Latest Research: ‘Lives On Hold”

At least 97,000 children in London are homeless – roughly equal to one child in every classroom across the capital.

This crisis is not random but predictable, rooted fundamentally in child poverty. Existing research demonstrates that poverty, particularly childhood poverty, is the strongest predictor of adult homelessness, accounting for 25-50% of cases. Three groups face particularly acute risk: single-parent families (who comprise 35% of households in temporary accommodation), young people aged 16-24 (with 14,885 presenting for housing support in 2023/24), and migrant families, some of whom are locked out of welfare support through No Recourse to Public Funds restrictions. Family breakdown accounts for half of youth homelessness cases, while young people under 25 receive 20% less in Universal Credit despite facing identical living costs.

The accommodation crisis exposes families to traumatic conditions that harm children’s development and wellbeing. Hotels and hostels – often without cooking facilities – force families into unsafe environments where children witness drug use, mental health crises, and criminal activity. Out-of-borough placements disrupt employment, education, and vital support networks, while no-visitor policies isolate families from essential help. The welfare system compounds these challenges: Housing Benefit’s 65% taper rate actively disincentivises work for those in temporary accommodation, while frozen Local Housing Allowance rates make private rentals increasingly unaffordable. Overwhelmed local authority housing teams, with drastically reduced face-to-face support, struggle to meet demand – and over one-third of young people approaching for help are not even formally assessed.

While systemic reform is essential – including removing the benefit cap, equalising Universal Credit for all ages, lifting NRPF for families with children, and banning hotels without kitchens – the third sector is already demonstrating what effective support looks like.

Organisations like the Cardinal Hume Centre and New Horizon Youth Centre provide the trauma-informed, holistic, wrap-around services that families need. These organisations bridge a crucial gap by offering trusted spaces that feel like “family” to those in crisis. They provide not just housing advice, but financial guidance, career planning, CV support, immigration advice, and wellbeing services – recognising that homelessness intersects with multiple complex challenges. Participants consistently praised charities for creating welcoming environments that build confidence and deliver practical results, describing them as irreplaceable lifelines when navigating hostile bureaucratic systems.

Preventing child homelessness requires government action on adequate social security and truly affordable housing at scale, but success depends fundamentally on sustained, long-term investment in the expert third sector organisations providing human-centred support. These charities catch problems early, offer the joined-up services that siloed public systems cannot, and see people’s lives in their full complexity. Evidence shows that lack of coordinated services costs the Exchequer money– yet the organisations modelling best practice through co-located, one-stop-shop services operate on precarious short-term funding. London needs youth homelessness hubs in every borough, expanded school-based prevention programmes, and equitable funding that recognises the third sector as essential frontline partners, not gap-fillers.

Child and youth homelessness is neither inevitable nor acceptable – with political will and genuine partnership between government and the voluntary sector, every child in London can have a safe, stable place to call home.

View Research

All Research

Make Childcare Make Sense

March 2024

Report on the Impact of ESDEG’s Services on SEND Children from ethnic minority backgrounds & low income households
during April 2022 to March 2023

March 2023

Flying Against
Gravity – The Lived
Reality of Poverty
in London

October 2021

Race, Poverty, and School Exclusions

October 2020

On The Edge: Life For Young Women on Low Incomes In London

October 2020

London’s VCS: Picking Up The Pieces

October 2018

Young Parents In London: Living With Precariousness

August 2018

Inner City Pressure: The voices of low income working families in inner London on the complex challenges they face

December 2016

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