§ 59. Mr. Dicksasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will consider seeking to reduce the scope of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 so that its provisions apply only to circumstances that occur within the United Kingdom.
§ Sir George YoungFollowing a review of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the associated code of guidance, the Government decided that there should be no amendment of the primary legislation at this stage. My right hon. Friend's predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Henley (Mr. Heseltine) announced our conclusions in a reply to my hon. Friend the then Member for Reading, North (Mr. Durant) on 13 May 1982—[Vol. 23, c. 317–8]—among other things outlined the action taken to protect local authorities against undue pressure from people arriving homeless in this country. Local authorities' wide discretion to deal with any attempted abuse of the Act was also clarified in the revised code of guidance, issued in July this year.