§ Mr. Mortonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in the returns kept by local authorities of persons applying to them for assistance under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, he encourages them to record the numbers of applicants who do not have priority need under the Act; if so, whether he will publish the most recent figures available for such applications in England; and, if not, whether he will advise authorities to keep such records.
§ Sir George YoungLocal authorities are requested to record numbers of applicants found to be homeless but not in priority need as part of the regular statistical returns made to my Department. In the second half of 1980 the best estimate is that local authorities in England dealt with about 17,000 homeless households not in priority need.