§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether over 1,000 council properties in Wandsworth are lying empty, waiting to be sold, while the council pays over £13,000 a year to house 714WA the average family in bed and breakfast accommodation rather than house the 200 homeless families in empty council houses; and what they believe to be the justification for this policy.
§ Lord SkelmersdaleThe council's housing policy is a matter for them, but I would applaud their work in satisfying the demand for owner-occupation among their own tenants and those on the waiting list and at the same time releasing rented accommodation for the homeless. I understand that at the end of April, 1987 the council had 611 dwellings empty awaiting sale. They have the smallest waiting list of any Inner London borough. On 11th May 1987 there were 244 homeless households placed in bed and breakfast accommodation by the Borough at an average cost of £6,000 per household per annum. The council recognises the Government's advice that bed and breakfast is an unsatisfactory form of temporary accommodation for homeless households and is taking positive action to reduce its use through the development of assured tenancy schemes and the short-term leasing of private sector empty dwellings. Wandsworth puts significantly fewer homeless households into bed and breakfast accommodation than many other London Boroughs, including Camden, Tower Hamlets, Brent, Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Lambeth, Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing.