Thank you for supporting our campaign. 

We wanted to give you an update on where we are at.

Our Rights Experience Advocacy Change group (REACH) team made up of mums who are experiencing the issues we are speaking up on - has been campaigning to stop children being housed without a kitchen for around a year now.

We have told our story to many conferences, and journalists including. 

The London Metro and Inside Housing - watch out for an article in The Observer soon too.

Worked on getting the right people in the room

Public Health

In the past year or so we have had monthly meetings hosted by the Public Health team to tackle issues at home office hotels around food quality, alternative sources of meals, etc. The Public Health Team have done great work on the guidelines for hotel meals, toddler meals in hotels, and have already enforced a change of caterer in one of the hotels in Newham due to failing food hygiene inspections.

Housing

We have also met regularly with the Newham Housing team on the issue of families that they have placed in hotels under emergency provision - some for longer than the six week legal limit without kitchens. There we have seen extraordinary change. Last week they reported that:

Newham Council have reduced hotel/B&B placements by 80% on past year. 
 
76 families in hotel/B&B down from 337 beginning of August 2023. 

Newham also used HSF funds to support community warm spaces and kitchens, as well as giving some vouchers for families in hotels placed by them at christmas.

Formed partnerships and alliances

We held a conference hosgted by  4 in10  which resulted in a task and finish group bringing together other interested parties including Sustain the food charity and other charity partners. 

Local and London wide politicians 

 
We have had public support from the Mayor of Newham and our local MP Stephen Timms. Deputy London Mayors - Tom Copley (Housing) and Joanna McCartney (families and children) who have all visited us for lunch to eat the food we could cook if our mums had kitchens (Sir Stephen asked if there will be food every time he comes!).

From these really positive signs we want next to talk to Florence Eshalomi, Chair of Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee , Yvette Cooper, and Angela Raynor.

Our three goals are:

1. Immediate relief locally for families - we are well on the way, 
2. No child in hotel for longer than the legal limit of six weeks (and wouldn't it be amazing if the legal limit also applied to home office accommodation!), 
3. No children without kitchens at all.

We are new to this change work, so if you can help - please get in touch. Join us!

Let's ge this done for our chldren,