§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the total cost of providing bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless persons for each year since its introduction; and if he will provide a breakdown by(a) region and (b) local authority.
§ Mr. BaldryThe available information for England is as follows:
Bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless persons: England Net expenditure £ million 1984–85 15.7 1985–86 33.9 1986–87 75.5 1987–88 104.2 1988–89 90.2 1989–90 72.6 Tables giving the readily available breakdowns by region and by local authority, covering 1988–89 and 1989–90, have been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the number of individuals registered under the homeless persons legislation as being homeless in(a) England as a whole and (b) Great Britain as a whole for each year since 1979 inclusive, with the percentage increase/decrease on the previous year; and if he will provide a breakdown by (i) region and (ii) local authority.
§ Mr. BaldryThe available information represents the numbers of households for whom local authorities accepted responsibility for securing permanent accommodation, under the homelessness provisions of the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act 1977 and the Housing Act 1985. Estimates of the total number of persons in these households are not available centrally.
The information for England is as follows:
Year Households accepted Percentage increase/decrease 1979 55,530 — 1980 60,400 +8.7 1981 66,990 +10.9 1982 71,620 +6.9 1983 75,470 +5.4 1984 80,500 +6.7 1985 91,010 +13.1 1986 100,490 +10.4 1987 109,170 +8.6 1988 113,770 +4.2 1989 122,180 +7.4 1990 140,350 +14.9 1991 145,140 +3.4 A new reporting system was introduced for non-metropolitan districts from the fourth quarter of 1980 and for the other authorities from the third quarter of 1982. As a result figures for 1979 to 1982 are not strictly comparable with those for later periods.
From the second quarter of 1991 the definition of acceptances was altered to exclude intentionally homeless and all the figures have been adjusted to the new basis.
Regional estimates on the old basis for each quarter of 1984 and 1985 appear in table 1 of "Homeless Households 570W Reported by Local Authorities in England: Supplementary Tables". Results for subsequent quarters of 1986 to 1990 inclusive appear in table 1 of various issues of "Local Authorities' Actions Under 'the Homelessness Provisions of the 1985 Housing Act: England, Results for …Quarter 19 …, Supplementary Tables".
Regional estimates on the new basis for 1991 appear in the information bulletin "Households Found Accommodation Under the Homelessness Provisions of the 1985 Housing Act: England: Statistics for the First Quarter of 1992". It is not appropriate to calculate percentage changes between figures on the old basis and the new basis. Estimates adjusted to the new basis, from 1984 onwards, will be published later this year.
Copies of all these publications and the list of relevant issues for regional estimates for 1986 to 1990 are available in the Library.
I have also placed in the Library tables giving the information actually reported by individual local authorities in England for each year from 1981 to 1991 inclusive. Information for the years 1979 and 1980 is available in edition no. 54, table 14, edition no. 61, table 11, and edition no. 62, table 13, of "Local Housing Statistics: England and Wales", copies of which are in the Library.
For information about Wales and Scotland I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Scotland.