Rising rents, frozen housing benefit and record numbers of children in temporary accommodation highlight the scale of the challenge but only if the data is accessible. WFET is supporting the Resolution Foundation to build the evidence base that policymakers and campaigners can use to drive change.
Millions of families are now priced beyond what they can reasonably afford, with 4.7 million spending over a third of their income on housing, and private renters facing the highest and fastest-rising costs. As support has failed to keep pace, insecurity has grown—reflected in the record number of households, including nearly 160,000 children, living in temporary accommodation.
WFET’s partnership with the Resolution Foundation is designed to close that gap. A new interactive housing dashboard brings together core indicators on affordability, supply, quality and welfare into a single, accessible platform—enabling users to move beyond national averages and understand how the system is working and failing for different groups. Alongside this, quarterly Housing Outlooks translate data into insight, combining rigorous analysis with clear implications for policy and practice.
Funder collaboration around increasing the accessibility and accuracy of data on affordable housing offers further clarity and transparency on how supply could meet the needs of society. The subsequent pilot research and consultation have provided the basis for further work in 2026/2027.
Together, these tools are about more than better information. They are about shifting the terms of debate, making the housing crisis visible in all its complexity and equipping those seeking change with the evidence to push for it.
Explore our approach or meet the team behind our work.
What began as a question—“How can we create better options for young people in mental health crisis?”—became a shared mission between Look Ahead and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust.
Read more about Funding that moves things forward: look ahead’s action‑driven partnership with WFETThis research exposes how housing-related debt traps single mothers and their children in temporary accommodation, and how fairer policies could help families move towards safety, stability and a real home.
Read more about A researcher’s story: what our work means for single mothers and their childrenFor many families, temporary accommodation is not just a housing issue, it shapes childhood itself. Frequent moves disrupt schooling, access to healthcare is inconsistent and the conditions many families face can harm both physical and mental health.
Read more about Hidden in plain sight: making children in temporary accommodation visible
