§ 9. Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his Department's assistance by way of benefits for the homeless. [12996]
§ The Minister for Social Security and Disabled People (Mr. William Hague)A wide range of benefits, including income support, is available to homeless people, and housing benefit is available to help meet reasonable rents when accommodation has been found.
§ Mr. JannerIs the Minister aware that changes in housing benefit due to come into effect in October are a source of worry to people involved with the needs of homeless people in Leicester and, I am sure, the rest of the country? Is he aware that the changes are regarded as inadequate and likely to make it more difficult for people to come into affordable housing, and that they will increase the already awful of burden of homelessness in this country? Will the Minister therefore reconsider those changes?
§ Mr. HagueNo. The changes to housing benefit concern above-average rents for an area, and are most unlikely to have an impact on the homeless. Homeless people are assisted by a wide range of benefits, including income support, and housing benefit will continue to be available to help meet reasonable rents. Community care grants and loans from the discretionary social fund are also available to help meet specific expenses, and the jobseeker's allowance is available to unemployed people—including the homeless—who satisfy the entitlement conditions.
§ Mr. David NicholsonDoes my hon. Friend accept that the number of people who are seen begging in the streets causes not only distress but great offence? Will he continue to work with other Departments to deal with the problem, which is often caused by drugs and alcoholism as well as by genuine homelessness? Does my hon. Friend agree that parents have a role to play? Does he further agree that if the rackets that my right hon. Friend the 10 Secretary of State mentioned earlier were dealt with effectively, more money would be available to deal with those who are genuinely homeless?
§ Mr. HagueMy hon. Friend is quite right to refer to the important role which can be played by parents. He is also right to draw attention to the initiatives of other Departments. My colleagues at the Departments of the Environment and of Health have introduced initiatives to reduce the number of rough sleepers which have met with considerable success. The good news is that the third quarter of last year—the last for which figures are available—showed the tenth successive quarterly reduction in the number of homeless acceptances by local authorities, and the eighth successive quarterly reduction in the number of households in temporary accommodation.