§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the reasons for the trend in the numbers of squatters: and what estimate he has made of the trend in the average age of squatters;
(2) if he will make a distinction in policy on squatting between privately owned properties that are squatted which are individually owned and those owned by commercial bodies; if he will give estimates for the numbers involved in both these categories in London and elsewhere; and from what sources his Department makes its estimate;
(3) what assessment has been made of the criminality of squatters relative to their neighbours.
§ Mr. JackCases of squatting do not necessarily come to official notice and no central records are kept of the numbers and characteristics of squatters, or of which properties are squatted in. This absence of accurate statistical information, combined with the shifting nature of the squatting population, means that it is difficult to make an accurate assessment of squatters' numbers, average age, their criminal behaviour, or of the type of properties occupied.
However, the Home Office consultation paper on squatting, which was issued in November 1991, reported the 1986 London housing survey's estimate that at that time there were 12,500 squatters occupying 7,500 properties in London. It also estimated that 52 per cent. of these squatters were under 25; 40 per cent. were between 26 and 40; and 8 per cent. were over 40. The consultation paper also reported a survey of local authority housing in April 1990, when 5,200 dwellings in England were reported as being squatted in; 90 per cent. of these were in London. More recent estimates of the total number of squatters have ranged from 30,000 to 50,000.
The Home Office consultation paper on squatting suggested, as one option for changing the law, that additional protection could be extended to private individuals who own property which is squatted in, but not to commercial owners of property, on the ground that more hardship is likely to be caused in the former type of case. This distinction was not, however, supported by the majority of respondents to the consultation paper, and the Government are, in any case, committed to strengthening the law against those who squat in a range of different premises.