§ Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, from the returns received by his Department from local authorities, what has been the total net expenditure by local authorities, for each of the years this information has been collected, on bed-and-breakfast accommodation for households accepted under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, for England as a whole and for each English local authority.
§ Sir George YoungThis information has from 1978–79, the first full year since the Act came into force, been published by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy in its series, "Homelessness Statistics, Actuals". Copies are in the Library.
§ Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, from the returns received by his Department from local authorities for households about whom inquiries were completed under the Housing (Homeless 329W Persons) Act 1977, how many households accepted as homeless and resident in temporary accommodation were (a) in women's refuges and (b) in short-life dwellings under licence; if he will give this information for England as a whole and for each English local authority area for the first half of 1983; and if he will arrange for the publication of such information when it is available for the second half of 1983 and for subsequent periods.
§ Sir George YoungAs at 30 June 1983, for England households accepted as homeless and accommodate in women's refuges or short life dwellings were 395 and 3,795 respectively.
In future it is proposed to publish the information for England in the supplementary tables that are made available in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, from the returns received by his Department from local authorities for households about whom inquiries were completed under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977,how many households dealt with under section 5 of the Act were accepted following notification from other authorities under section 5; if he will give this information for England as a whole and for each English local authority for the first half of 1983; and if he will arrange for the publication of such information when it is available for the second half of 1983 and for subsequent periods.
§ Sir George YoungThe number of homeless households accepted following notification by other authorities for England was 390. Information for individual local authorities can only be prepared at disproportionate costs.
In future, it is proposed to publish the information for England in supplementary tables. These are placed in the House of Commons Library.
§ Mr. Simon Hughesasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, from the returns received by his Department from local authorities for households about whom inquiries were completed under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977, (a) in how many cases advice and assistance only were given, (b) in how many cases the households were found not to be homeless, nor threatened with homelessness within 28 days, (c) what was the total number of inquiries completed under the Act and (d) how many authorities failed to complete returns under each of these headings; if he will give this information for England as a whole, and for each English local authority area, for the first half of 1983; and if he will arrange for the publication of such information when it is available for the second half of 1983, and for subsequent periods.
§ Sir George YoungThe figures for England are as follows: advice and assistance only was given in 18,400 cases; the household was found not to be homeless nor threatened with homelessness within 28 days in 25,400 cases; the total number of inquiries completed was 80,500. Because variations in the way local authorities interpret the returns make comparisons between individual local authorities or groups of authorities misleading I am not prepared to give detailed figures.