§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what are his plans for dealing with homelessness among 16 to 21-year-olds;
(2) if he will establish an inquiry into homelessness among young people.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonLocal authorities have the statutory responsibility for dealing with homelessness. Almost £23 million in extra capital allocations have been made available to local authorities over the financial years 1991–93 to help the homeless. The first £15 million was aimed specifically at young, single homeless people. In addition, £150,000 has been made available over three years under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 for the development of projects to support young, single homeless people in Scottish cities who are roofless or at risk of becoming so and to reduce the risk of them moving to London.
We commissioned, and published in February, the report of the Glasgow university study, "Homeless and Young People in Scotland", and are consulting widely on its recommendations. Our current review of the code of guidance on homelessness will include interviews with homeless applicants, including young people; and the parallel survey of housing authorities' policy and procedures will also cover young people.
§ Mrs. FyfeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many 16 to 21-year-olds last year were turned away from temporary accommodation projects; and what is his latest estimate of the number of 16 to 21-year-olds sleeping rough;
(2) how many 16 to 21-year-olds have declared themselves homeless to local authorities and voluntary organisations in each year since 1985.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonInformation on those turned away from temporary accommodation is not collected centrally. The available information on the numbers sleeping rough is due to be published later this month in the 1991 census report for Scotland, part 1.
28W
1988 Sitting tenants Third parties Area/estate Number Hectarage Number Hectarage Use1 Argyll Ardachy 1 479.27 1 14.73 B Calgary — — 1 27.70 B Sunart 1 0.10 — — Inverness (Mainland) Tomich — — 1 0.08 E Caithness West Watten 1 29.98 — — Whiteinch — — 1 0.10 A Sutherland Armadale — — 1 0.14 A Skye and Raasay Kilmuir 2 11.93 1 0.05 E — — 1 0.01 B — — 1 11.48 B — — 1 0.49 A — — 1 0.08 C Bracadale 1 0.17 1 0.97 E Scorrybreck 1 0.11 1 0.25 B — — 1 0.18 A The available information on households applying to local authorities is published in the statistical bulletins "Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland 1979–80 to 1990–91" (HSG/1992/1) and "Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland 1980–81 to 1991–92" (HSG/1992/6), both of which are available in the House Library. No information is collected from voluntary agencies on this matter.