§ Mr. Nottasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) which local authority is responsible for the homeless in the Penwith and Kerrier district of Cornwall;
(2) how many units of temporary accommodation for use by the homeless each responsible authority has;
(3) what was the total expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation for the homeless in the Penwith and Kerrier districts of Cornwall in 1974–75.
§ Mr. ArmstrongI understand that both Penwith and Kerrier District Councils have accepted primary responsibility for accommodating homeless people. Neither 387W council has any units of temporary accommodation for use specifically by the homeless, although Penwith has 45 units and Kerrier 20 which are available to meet emergency needs generally.
The information about public expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation is not readily available, for the reasons given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fletcher) on 8th December.—[Vol. 902, c. 19–20.]
§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what was the total public expenditure on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people by those local authorities responsible for providing homes for the homeless in the North Cornwall constituency in 1974–75;
(2) which local authorities are responsible for providing homes for the homeless in the North Cornwall constituency;
(3) how many units of temporary accommodation for use by the homeless are currently provided by those authorities responsible for providing homes for the homeless in the north Cornwall constituency.
§ Mr. ArmstrongThe information I have is that both North Cornwall and Restormel District Councils have accepted primary responsibility for accommodating homeless people. The number of units of accommodation used temporarily by the district councils varies according to circumstances and need, and the availability of permanent housing. Accommodation provided temporarily is by no means the sole measure of the overall help that district councils give to homeless people. However, I understand that on 8th December the district councils regarded the following numbers of units as available for use temporarily by homeless people: North Cornwall, 16 Restormel, seven.
The information about public expenditure on bed and breakfast is not readily available, for the reasons given in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Darlington (Mr. Fletcher) on 8th December.—[Vol. 902, c. 19–20.]