§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what percentage of homeless households have been temporarily accommodated in (a) council dwellings, (b) a hostel and (c) bed and breakfast accommodation by local authorities since the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act came into operation; and if he will break down the figures to show the numbers for each local authority and the comparative cost of the temporary housing alternatives;
(2) how much each local authority has spent on accommodating homeless households since the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act came into operation; and what was the average cost per household in each case;
(3) how many homeless households have been accommodated by the local authorities since the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act came into operation and if he will break down the figures to show the numbers for each local authority.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergEstimates for England and for individual local authorities of the number of homeless households for whom local authorities have accepted responsibility for securing accommodation since the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act came into force are set out in the series of documents "Homeless Households Reported by Local Authorities in England", which are published by my Department and are available in the Library.
The reports also contain estimates for England of the proportions of homeless households first accommodated in (a) council dwellings, (on either a temporary or permanent basis) (b) hostels and (c) bed and breakfast accommodation.
The Department does not collect comprehensive financial information specifically relating to the operation of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act.