§ 23. Mr. Michael Morrisasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what action the Government have taken to date designed to reduce homelessness.
§ Mr. CroslandWe have taken action to stimulate public sector house building, improvement of the older stock, social ownership of rented accommodation and housing association activity; and we have extended security of tenure. I shall shortly by putting to local authority associations and other interested bodies a consultation paper on homelessness, inviting their views on the statutory, administrative and financial arrangements for dealing with this intractable problem.
§ Mr. MorrisDoes not the Secretary of State recognise that this problem is not intractable and that it is the relative 441 inaction of his Department which has produced this year's record figure of homelessness, which shows every sign of remaining for the following year? Will he therefore instruct local authorities to make better use of vacant properties? Will he consider something original such as perhaps a short-term grant for short-life properties, which would save a considerable sum of money when compared with the bed-and-breakfast basis?
§ Mr. CroslandMy hon. Friend the Minister for Housing and Construction answered a Question regarding empty properties on 25th February in the course of which he discussed a number of measures which could be taken and which he is now discussing with a number of associations. With respect, if the hon. Gentleman does not think that this is an intractable problem, he knows nothing about housing.
§ Mr. LawrenceDoes not the Secretary of State agree that the Rent Act 1974 has increased homelessness, since those who earn less than £3,000 a year are unable to buy houses on the private market while many people are ineligible for council housing, and that even if they are eligible for council housing they can get nowhere near the top of the list?
§ Mr. CroslandIf the hon. Gentleman had been present when Question No. 4 was asked, he would have heard the answer.