HC Deb 01 March 1988 vol 128 cc487-8W
Mr. Kirkwood

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish figures for the number of households accepted as homeless in Scotland in each year from 1978 until the latest available year.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

The numbers of applicant households under the homelessness legislation who were assessed as homeless by local authorities are set out in the following table.

Financial year Number of homeless cases
1978–79 7,494
1979–80 7,443
1980–81 7,022
1981–82 8,268
1982–83 8,665
1983–84 8,094
1984–85 9,851
1985–86 110,906
1986–87 19,668
1 Provisional.