§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give an estimate of the number of homeless children in London currently and in 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryThe information is not held centrally and my Department does not make estimates.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his current estimate of the number of homeless(a) in London, (b) in Wales and (c) in the United Kingdom; what were the comparable figures in 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BaldryThe available information represents the numbers of households for whom local authorities accepted responsibility for securing permanent accommodation, under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985.
The information for England and London is as follows:
England London 19921 38,460 10,850 1991 145,140 39,590 1982 71,620 20,630 1 First quarter. A new reporting system was introduced for authorities other than non-metropolitan districts from the third quarter of 1982 so the figures for the year are not strictly comparable with those for subsequent years.
For information about Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland I refer the hon. and learned Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, for Scotland and for Northern Ireland respectively.