§ LORD HYLTONasked Her Majesty's Government:
- (i) how many families and how many persons in England and Wales were in temporary accommodation provided or paid for by local authorities because of homelessness, at the most recent known date;
- (ii) how many applications were made to local authorities in England and Wales by homeless families in 1973; what proportion were rehoused or given temporary accommodation, and what percentage of those not accommodated were in urgent housing need and what happened to them subsequently.
§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL(i) There were 6,630 families comprising 28,584 persons resident in temporary accommodation in England and Wales on December 31, 1973, the latest date for which figures are available.
(ii) 33,576 applications were made to local authorities in England and Wales by homeless families in 1973. The number of admissions, including transfers, of families into temporary accommodation in England and Wales during 1973 was 8,723; additionally, in the G.L.C. area, 4,329 families were directly rehoused during the year. I regret that the other information requested is not available but the noble Lord will be aware of the arrangements being made to improve statistics on homelessness.
§ LORD HYLTONasked Her Majesty's Government:
- (i) How many children were in care of local authorities in England and Wales, at the most recent count, because their parents were homeless
1431 or living in totally unsatisfactory housing conditions; - (ii) What is the current weekly cost of keeping a child in care in a local authority children's home;
- (iii) Whether they will estimate the total annual cost of the children in care because of homelessness and bad housing (including the cost of casework).
§ LORD WELLS-PESTELL(i) No statistics are available showing the total number of children in care because their parents were homeless or living in unsatisfactory housing conditions. Local authorities do however submit annual information about the numbers of children received into care and the reasons for their reception. The most recent relevant figures are the provisional ones for the year 1972/73 as at March 31, 1973:
Received because
(a) the family was homeless because of eviction
England 807 Wales 81 (b) the family was homeless for a reason other than eviction
England 1,812 Wales 77 (c) home conditions were unsatisfactory
England 4,206 Wales 169 (ii) The weekly cost of keeping a child in care in a local authority children's home in 1972/73 is provisionally estimated at £28.64 in England and £24.90 in Wales.
1432WA(iii) Because of the absence of overall statistics which I have mentioned, no estimate is available of the total annual cost of children in care because of homelessness and bad housing conditions.