HC Deb 17 October 1973 vol 861 cc194-5
18. Mrs. Sally Oppenheim

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent local authorities have implemented the recommendations of the Cullingworth Report.

Mr. Channon

This report was sent to local authorities and commended to them in a departmental circular. I understand that my hon. Friend may be particularly concerned about paragraphs 205–209. In these cases, we should expect local authorities to look at each case carefully in the light of individual circumstances and the local housing situation. If my hon. Friend has a particular case of difficulty in mind perhaps she will write to me.

Mrs. Oppenheim

Is my hon. Friend aware that the report referred to specific difficulties in the case of adult single children who had been caring for their elderly parents until the death of those parents and who were then evicted. It is now common for local authorities to keep them on, by automatically transferring the tenancy or offering suitable alternative accommodation, but it is not universal. Some local authorities are still evicting them. It is no longer the case with my local authority, but I know of a lady aged over 75 who was evicted in just these circumstances, who has never had a home of her own, who has slept on railway stations since then and is now sleeping on the floor of a friend's house.

Mr. Speaker

This is Question Time.

Mr. Channon

I am extremely sorry to hear about the case to which my hon. Friend refers. Perhaps she will send me the details. This report was commended to local authorities in a departmental circular. I have no power to compel them to adopt it, but I hope that in cases such as that which my hon. Friend has described they will take a sensible view and follow the recommendations of the report.