Homelessness (Hansard, 10 May 2002)

§ Ms Keeble

The homelessness report, "More than a roof', was published on 13 March. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out his response to that report on 13 March in the reply he gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan,Official Report, column 1091 W. Together, those documents set out a new approach to tackling homelessness, one that focuses as much on people and the problems they face, as on the places in which they live. New legislation is a key part of this new approach.

The Homelessness Act 2002 received Royal Assent on 26 February. The Act will strengthen the safety net which local authorities provide for people who are homeless, or threatened with homelessness. It will, for the first time, place a new duty on local authorities to conduct a review of homelessness and develop, in consultation, a strategy to meet the housing and support needs of all homeless people in their district. It will also ensure that people are given greater choice in applying for social housing.

We will be making an Order later this Session to bring the main homelessness provisions of the Act into force in July.

We will also be laying an Order for approval by Parliament to extend the groups of people who have a priority need for accommodation under the homelessness legislation. This will ensure that vulnerable homeless people leaving institutions, young people including those leaving care, and people fleeing domestic, racial and other forms of violence get the help they need. We intend, subject to Parliament's approval, to bring these changes into force in July, at the same time as the main provisions of the Homelessness Act 2002.

We will also issue revised statutory guidance on homelessness in June, up-dated to reflect the new legislation.

Section 8 of the Homelessness Act 2002, which provides for applicants to seek a review of the suitability of accommodation offered by a local authority as a settled solution to homelessness, and paragraphs 3 and 7 of Schedule 1 of the Act, came into force on 26 February. Interim statutory guidance has been issued to housing authorities in respect of these provisions.

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We will also be issuing in the next few weeks a draft of the code of guidance on allocation of accommodation for a twelve week consultation period. Following that consultation, we plan to issue the revised statutory code in the Autumn, with the provisions on allocations in the Homelessness Act 2002 coming into force from January 2003.

In order to help local authorities and other agencies to implement these changes effectively, the Government has increased the resources available for housing, homelessness and support services.

In addition to this increased investment, an extra £8 million has been added to local authorities' Revenue Support Grant settlement from 2001£02 to cover the additional duties imposed by the new homelessness legislation.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his response to "More than a roof" that we would provide additional resources to enable local authorities to deliver the new Priority Needs Order. I can confirm today that we will be providing £10 million for this purpose in 2002–03, from a total of —125 million being provided specifically to tackle homelessness. The extra —10 million will be allocated to local authorities by the new Homelessness Directorate in my department following consultation with the Local Government Association on the most appropriate method of distribution.

The Homelessness Directorate is working with local authorities and other key agencies to ensure that the new legislation—and the Government's new approach to tackling homelessness—is implemented efficiently and effectively to make a real difference to the lives of homeless people.