§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people who have previously been housed by local authorities as homeless applicants are currently homeless.
§ Sir George YoungThe information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many families rehoused last year by London boroughs had lost their homes as a result of repossessions by lenders;
(2) what percentage of families who were made homeless last year through repossessions are currently living in temporary accommodation.
§ Sir George YoungData provided by local authorities on the numbers of homeless households for which they accept responsibility to secure permanent accommodation include information on the reason for the loss of their last settled home. Some 1,730 households were accepted in London, and 8 per cent. of acceptances in England, in 1993 as a result of mortgage arrears; cases where the mortgage arrears led to repossession are not separately identified.
These data do not provide information on the number of accepted households who were subsequently placed in temporary accommodation, or on the point when households are permanently rehoused.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the level of support provided to the long-term homeless after they are housed.
§ Sir George YoungLong-term homeless people who are rehoused under the homelessness legislation—part III of the Housing Act 1985–are entitled to the same social security benefits as other comparable members of the population.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many families subsequently rehoused in housing association accommodation in the last available year had previously lost their houses as a result of repossession by lenders.
§ Sir George YoungThe information requested is not available centrally.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what percentage of families accepted as homeless in each year since 1990 have had members of their families subsequently taken into care.
§ Sir George YoungThe information requested is not available in the Department.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what assessment he has made of the economic causes of homelessness.
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§ Sir George YoungDuring the 12 months ending 31 December 1993, only about 10 per cent. of households accepted by English local authorities for rehousing under the homelessness legislation had lost their previous home for reasons of mortgage or rent arrears.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has concerning the ages of those currently living rough in London.
§ Sir George YoungCounts of people sleeping rough in central London are undertaken periodically by voluntary sector agencies and co-ordinated by Homeless Network. The latest count, on 18 November 1993, found 287 people sleeping rough. The breakdown by age is shown in the table:
Age range Per cent. Under 18 1 18–25 16 26–49 49 50–59 22 Over 60 12 Total 100
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the average cost of keeping a family of four in bed-and-breakfast accommodation in London for one year; and what is the comparable cost of housing a homeless family in a council-owned dwelling.
§ Sir George YoungThe information requested is not available.