§ Mr. Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what allowance he intends to make in allocating capital for housing in 1985–86 for the number of homeless people in Greater London;
(2) what assistance he has offered to councils in Greater London to reduce the number of homeless persons;
(3) what assistance he has offered to councils in Greater London to help reduce their dependence on bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people.
§ Sir George YoungMy Department makes substantial capital allocations to London and other authorities. In making the allocations, regard is paid to the homelessness indicator in the generalised needs index and to information about homelessness provided by authorities. Allocations may be used at authorities' discretion for new building, bringing empty property into use and certain other measures which would reduce dependence on bed-and-breakfast accommodation.