Slight rise in non-dependent children living at home in Wigan

Intergenerational Foundation, which campaigns for fairness across the different generations, said equality between older and younger people is at risk if younger generations are unable to get onto the housing ladder and reach the milestones their parents and grandparents did.

Census figures from the Office for National Statistics show 28,165 non-dependent children lived in the family home in 2021 – marginally up from 27,512 in 2011, when the last census was undertaken.

A non-dependent child is someone living with their parents who is either over 18 and without a partner or child or a 16 to 18 year old not in full-time education.

Of the 16,909 households where non-dependent children stayed with their parents, 8,941 of the parents were married or in a civil partnership, 1,421 were co-habiting and a further 6,547 were single parents.

The rise follows a trend across England and Wales, where the number of non-dependent children living at home increased by 14.7 per cent in the last 10 years, from 4.2 million to 4.9 million.

There was an increase in the number of non-dependent children of all ages between 20 and 73, while the largest rise was among 24 year olds.

Angus Hanton, co-founder of Intergenerational Foundation, said: "As these figures make plain, a toxic combination of high housing and energy costs, high tax rates and low wages has driven millions of young people back to the family home, instead of striking out on their own.

"Intergenerational fairness is at risk if our children and grandchildren are unable to achieve the same milestones enjoyed by previous generations.

"What most parents want is for their children to do better than them: the census shows that their children face markedly worse prospects."

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it is providing "significant support" to help people through the cost-of-living crisis.

A spokesperson said: "Our Renters Reform Bill will also deliver a fairer deal for renters, abolishing no-fault evictions so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge unreasonable rent rises."