Dr. ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the latest figures for levels of' homelessness for England; and what are the corresponding figures for 1979.
§ Mrs. RoeThe latest estimates of households accepted as homeless appear in table 1 of "Local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 Housing Act: England. Results for first quarter 1988, Supplementary Tables", which is in the Library.
Figures for the first quarter of 1979 are not available, but for estimates of acceptances in 1979 and 1987 I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 17 June at column 358.
§ Mr. Roy HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he proposes to take to combat the increasing level of homelessness.
§ Mrs. RoeResponsibility lies with local authorities, under part III of the Housing Act 1985. They have to make best use of the housing stock; to help them, additional resources of £74 million have, been made available since October last year. We are reviewing the legislative provisions to see if further national initiatives would be helpful.