EVERY child deserves a loving home. Certainly no child should ever have to sleep on a hard floor because they don’t have something as basic as a bed.

The charity Buttle UK, which helps children and young people in crisis, claims thousands of youngsters in Bradford don’t have a proper bed to sleep in.

It says this can lead to a range of problems from lack of concentration at school to bad behaviour.

Now the charity has written to the city’s MPs asking for their help in solving the sleeping crisis.

Once upon a time, parents could turn to their local authority for help if they couldn’t afford a bed.

But the Discretionary Social Fund, which handed out crisis loans and community care grants, was abolished five years ago. It was replaced by local welfare assistance. This is supposed to help hard-up families weather unexpected financial problems and domestic emergencies.

But nearly two-thirds of English councils have been forced to drastically scale back or even close their welfare schemes. In Bradford, the council no longer gives cash awards for emergency situations, although it offers help with benefits, housing and debt.

England’s threadbare welfare budget has left families without access to hardship support.

Ministers need to review emergency financial assistance schemes to ensure families have access to help when they need it. Parents shouldn’t have to rely on charity or pay day loans just to give their children a good night’s sleep.