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News Society Second thoughts Home truths Poor housing can destroy a child's future, says Lisa Harker Share 3 Email Lisa Harker The Guardian, Tuesday 12 September 2006 Britain is hooked on housing. Queues snake round DIY retail parks each weekend, and TV schedules are saturated with home makeover shows. But there is one area where the appetite for all things housing appears to have stopped short.While the government's Every Child Matters programme for child welfare picks out health, safety, economic well-being, making a positive contribution, enjoying and achieving as the critical factors that shape children's lives, there is no explicit recognition of the role that housing plays - despite the fact that more than a million children in Britain are living in poor housing.That figure will come as no surprise to professionals working at the sharp end of the housing crisis, but whether the scale of the problem is grasped by those shaping public policy is far from clear.Earlier this year I was commissioned by Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, to undertake a comprehensive review of research examining the impact of bad housing on children's future chances. The resulting report, Chance of a Lifetime, published today, documents the powerful influence of poor housing on children's lives and shows how its destabilising impact is felt long into adulthood.

Earlier this year I was commissioned by Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity, to undertake a comprehensive review of research examining the impact of bad housing on children's future chances. The resulting report, Chance of a Lifetime, published today, documents the powerful influence of poor housing on children's lives and shows how its destabilising impact is felt long into adulthood.

On every aspect of life - mental, physical, emotional, social and economic - living in bad housing can hand children a devastating legacy. Studies show that poor housing can lead to a 25% higher risk of experiencing severe ill-health and disability before they reach middle age. In particular, such children face a greater chance of developing meningitis, infections, asthma or other respiratory problems