HOMELESSNESS groups urged the government today to take urgent action after official data revealed record numbers of people living in temporary accommodation.

A total of 298,430 households were assessed as being homeless or threatened with homelessness in the year to March 2023, according to the latest statistics from the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing & Communities.

The figure is the highest since records began five years ago and is up from 6.8 per cent from the previous year.