The rate of homeless people in the United Kingdom increased by 15.8% between October and December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 amid a housing crisis in the country, the UK Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities said in a report. 
 
"Between October to December 2023 [...] 44,760 households were initially assessed as homeless and therefore owed a relief duty, up 15.8% from the same quarter last year," the report said on Tuesday. 
 
On Tuesday, The Guardian reported that the latest figures published by the government expose the scale of the country's housing crisis. 
 
The newspaper quoted Polly Neate, the chief executive of the UK's Shelter charity that campaigns for tenant rights, as saying that "decades of failure to build enough genuinely affordable social homes has left families struggling to cobble together extortionate sums every month to keep a roof over their heads." 
 
"Those who can’t afford private rents are being thrown into homelessness and then left for months and even years in damaging temporary accommodation because there is nowhere else," she said. 

UK MoD slapped with 'utter betrayal' 

Earlier this year, the UK Ministry of Defense was accused of "utter betrayal" over a new military lodging plan that eliminates rank-based housing allocation.

A group of Army wives has begun a campaign urging the government to reconsider its new housing policy, which would result in many families being transferred into smaller living quarters.

Servicemen and women, together with their families, are housed on or near military bases. Staff members have always been rewarded with larger residences as they advance through the ranks.

That said, recent analysis indicates that the British army's numbers will fall below 70,000 soldiers within the next two years, prompting both US and European generals to question whether the UK remains a top-tier fighting force, The Daily Mail reported in January.

Housing conditions have been a reason for decreased recruitment, with a 2023 study indicating that the most often mentioned reason for quitting the military was the "impact on family and personal life."

In December, data reported a 14 percent increase in the number of homeless military veterans over the year, coinciding with a surge in the overall cost of living throughout the country.

According to statistics released by the Department of Housing on December 24, the count of households including individuals who have served in the armed forces assessed as homeless in 2022-23 stood at 2,110, up from 1,850 the previous year.