Housing: Poor housing is harming health of young people

The homelessness charity launched its biggest campaign last week, to tackle the "scandal" of bad housing, which it claims leaves one in 12 under-16s more likely to develop diseases such as bronchitis and asthma.

The Million Children campaign, which will cost 750,000 over three years, represents a new style of lobbying by Shelter. It plans to get 100,000 people writing to the Government.

The campaign began with the publication of Toying with their future, which focuses on statistics linking the effects of overcrowded and unfit or emergency accommodation on the health and education of under-16s.

Unveiled at the Institute of Child Health, the report states: "One local authority estimated that 400 children were not going to school because of their housing problems."