§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information his Department had, before announcing proposals to reduce the 100 per cent. subsidy for leasing housing from private landlords, on the likely increase in the number of families in bed-and-breakfast accommodation in(a) London and (b) elsewhere.
§ Mr. YeoIt is for local authorities to decide what type of temporary accommodation to use to meet their homelessness duties. Local authorities report to my Department on a quarterly basis the number of homeless households they have placed in bed-and-breakfast accommodation. As there is considerable variation between areas in the use made of such accommodation, my Department does not make forecasts of likely future usage.