Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the cost of providing bed and breakfast accommodation for the homeless from public funds for 1974–75.
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§ Mr. FreesonSome housing authorities pay for bed and breakfast accommodation under general local government powers, but it is more usually provided or funded by social services authorities, along with many other preventive and supportive services, under Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963. A proportion of the total cost may come out of individual payments of supplementary benefit. It is not therefore practicable to make a reliable total estimate. I hope that local authorities will increasingly be able to avoid having to use this unsatisfactory sort of provision.