§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has for discontinuation of the leasing by borough or district councils of private houses for temporary accommodation for homeless persons; what consultation he has had with boroughs principally affected; and what study he has made concerning the effects of implementing his proposal.
§ Mr. YeoOn 22 October 1990, the Department consulted all local housing authorities about proposals for 115W housing revenue account subsidy in 1991–92. There was no proposal to discontinue leasing. We are now considering the responses received as a result of our consultations and final decisions will be made shortly.
Mr. Robert G. HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has for action in relation to homeless single people in London, additional to that announced in his reply of 22 June,Official Report, column 752.
§ Sir George Young[pursuant to the reply, 26 November 1990, c. 256–57]: I am announcing today that I have given the go-ahead for 1,000 new bedspaces in hostel and long-term accommodation under the single homelessness initiative to tackle rough sleeping in central London. The new hostel spaces will be run by front-line voluntary groups.
We are working on this high priority task in close co-operation with voluntary organisations. I am delighted that Nick Hardwick, director of Centrepoint, Soho, is to be working closely on this project with me. Together we will be developing strategies to ensure particularly that people sleeping in concentrations such as those in London's Bullring and Victoria will make use of the hostels that are available to them.