HL Deb 11 December 1990 vol 524 cc28-30WA
Lord Northbourne

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the total amount of grant aid which has been available under Section 73 of the Housing Act 1985 for 1990, and how much of this total has been made available:

  1. (a) for projects which take persons sleeping rough off the streets and which support them in independent living;
  2. (b) to projects which seek to persuade young people not to move to major cities without adequate accommodation;
  3. (c) to projects which aim to reduce the number of young people leaving home within major cities.

Baroness Blatch

In the current financial year, £2 million has been made available for Section 73 grants to voluntary organisations concerned with helping the single homeless. This is three times last year's total. Priority has been given to projects which take rough sleepers off the streets and support them in independent living or which aim to persuade young people not to leave home without first arranging suitable accommodation. We hope that these projects will enable around 5,000 single homeless people to find temporary accommodation and more than 1,500 to find a permanent home. In addition, some 15,000 people will be given specialist advice which should prevent them from becoming homeless.