§ Mr. Tom Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what discussions his Department has held with local authorities about the position of people who are forced to move from a borough in which they have lived due to the effects of the regulations of bed-and-breakfast accommodation, as to their rights to remain on the council housing waiting list; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir George YoungThe Department has held no such discussions. The criteria for remaining on a local authority's housing waiting list are matters for each local authority to decide. I understand that surveys by the Department of Health and Social Security in various parts of the country, including London and the south-east, since changes in the relevant regulations, show barely any movements from one area to another of people receiving supplementary benefit board and lodging allowances.