§ Mr. CallaghanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what new proposals he has to combat homelessness.
§ Sir George YoungI refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to his question of 25 June 1993 at column330.
In addition, we have made available a further £86 million over the next three years—1993–94 to 1995–96, to continue our rough sleepers initiative in central London. A strategy document, inviting bids for funding, was issued on 16 June. Emphasis will continue to be on funding permanent accommodation in houses and flats. Resources will be targeted more tightly, to make the initiative more effective, and some of the resources will be focused on "zones", starting with the Strand. Copies of the strategy document are in the Library.
The latest quarterly homelessness statistics show an encouraging downward trend in the number of households Northumberland accepted by local authorities as homeless: the number of acceptances during the first quarter of 1993 was 5 per cent. lower than in the same quarter last year. The number of households in bed-and-breakfast accommodation fell by 37 per cent.