§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he proposes to make a statement about the outcome of the meeting on 17th May between officials of his Department and local authority associations, the Housing Corporation and representatives of other Government Departments concerning homelessness.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe Working Group on Homeless Young People was set up by my Department following public concern about the problems illustrated by the television programme "Johnny Go Home". When its report was published on 3rd August 1976, I made a statement in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Mr. Pavitt)— [Vol. 916, c.698–9]—explaining that the Government considered it desirable that the working group's recommendations should be fully discussed to explore what could be done to help homeless young people in the light of severe constraints on local authority expenditure. On 17th May 1977, representatives of the Greater London Council (GLC), the London Boroughs Associations (LBA), the Association of Metropolitan Authorities, the Association of County Councils and the 670W Association of District Councils met officials from the Departments of Health and Social Security, Environment, Education and Science, the Home Office, the Welsh Office and the Housing Corporation.
Those consultations were set, inescapably, in the context of the severe limitations on local authority spending, and, as I made clear in mly statement on 3rd August, there was little prospect of early implementation of those proposals which would require additional expenditure. However, the local authority associations acknowledged the keen public and parliamentary interest in the problems of homelessness in general and the young single homeless in particular, as evidenced by the high level of debate which has taken place in both Houses in recent months.
From the discussion it became clear that, even in a time of acute financial pressure, much of what was recommended by the working group was already being done to varying extents by a large number of authorities. Leeds was cited as an example of a large city with a variety of housing problems in which the authority and the voluntary sector had come together to pool their resources in an attempt to formulate a well-co-ordinated basic network of services covering the different needs of homeless people. Such initiatives were operating in a number of authorities across the country and it was considered likely that this would become a national pattern. The report of the LBA/GLC Working Party on the Provision of Accommodation for Single People had not at that stage been accepted by the LBA but I understand that this was done at its meeting on 26th May, when it agreed that provision for the homeless young should be a high priority for expenditure as reallocation of funds became possible. In particular, I understand that the LBA is following up proposals for two additional centres for overnight accommodation for young people and for information and advisory services for young people arriving in London. The Department of the Environment is producing a circular "Better Use of Vacant and Under-Occupied Property" following consultations with the local authority associations. This, too, should provide some impetus for action which would not entail significant expenditure.
671WA promising outcome of the consultations was an agreement by the Department of the Environment and the associations to give further consideration to the preparation of a simple guide for voluntary organisations setting up and running hostels. The interest being shown by the Housing Corporation in hostels was generally welcomed and a seminar arranged by the corporation for interested bodies, including local authorities and voluntary organisations and held on 7th July, proved helpful to all concerned.
The representatives of the local authority associations emphasised that further action on the part of local authorities was limited by their financial situation, and this precluded any substantial development of facilities for homeless young people for the time being. The consultations, however, provided a valuable insight into what was already being done by authorities, in spite of their difficulties, and have generated a useful exchange of views as a basis on which to build when circumstances became more favourable.