§ Mrs MaddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many households were found to be homeless during the most recent 12 months for which figures are available in(a) each region and (b) each housing authority area in England and Wales.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesI have today placed in the Library a table giving the numbers reported by each local authority in England of homeless households for which they had accepted responsibility to secure permanent accommodation in the year ending September 1994, under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act. The table includes grossed regional totals which include estimates for missing data.
For information about Wales I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
§ Mrs MaddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the effect of homelessness and living in temporary accommodation on children's education.
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§ Mr. ForthI have been asked to reply.
HM inspectors published "A Survey of the Education of Children Living in Temporary Accommodation" in 1990. It considered the effect of homelessness on the educational attainment of a sample of individual children and the response of the schools and local education authorities to their educational needs. It identified ways in which the educational arrangements for pupils who lived in temporary accommodation could be improved and noted that the national curriculum should ensure greater continuity and progression.