§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will estimate (1)(a) how many hostels exist in England and Wales, (b) how many people live in these hostels and (c) how many of these people are on housing benefits;
(2) how many people live in houses in multiple occupation of the type described in section 345 of the Housing Act 1985; how many of these are on housing benefit; how many of these are students; and how many of these are families with children;
(3) how many houses in multiple occupation are estimated to exist under the present definition contained in section 345 of the Housing Act 1985.
§ Mr. Robert B. JonesA Department of the Environment survey of local authorities estimated that in England and Wales in 1983–84 there were between 1.25 and 2 million people living in houses in multiple occupation. There is no information available on how many of these people receive housing benefit or how many are students or families with children.
The definition of a house in multiple occupation in section 345 of the Housing Act 1985, as amended, is wide; it is a house or flat which is occupied by persons who do not form a single household, so there is therefore no simple way of identifying those properties. However, the English house condition survey 1991 estimated the following:
Number Bedsits 75,000 Sheltered accommodation & hostels 51,000 Shared houses 220,000 Households with lodgers 213,000 Total 559,000 The information is not complete, however, as other types of accommodation which could fall within the definition of houses in multiple occupation, such as converted owner-occupied flats and bed and breakfast accommodation, are not included. There is no further specific information about hostels.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many houses in multiple occupation fall under the high risk category in respect of fire safety.
§ Mr. CurryTaking high risk to imply large houses in multiple occupation of at least three storeys with a gross floor area of at least 500 sq m, for which local authorities have a mandatory duty to ensure that there are adequate1266W means of escape from fire, research carried out by the Campaign for Bedsit Rights estimated that 8 per cent. of houses in multiple occupation were in this category.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were killed and injured in houses in multiple occupation in(a) 1992–93 and (b) 1993–94 as defined in section 345 of the Housing Act 1985.
§ Mr. CurryStatistics are available only for death or injury from fire in England and Wales. The Home Office statistics do not correlate exactly with the definition of houses in multiple occupation in section 345 of the Housing Act 1985. However, the best estimate for multi-occupied houses, excluding shared houses—that is, by students or families taking in lodgers—is as follows:
Deaths from fire in England and Wales, 1987–1992 Year Multiple Occupancy Houses All Hotels/Boarding Houses All Hostels 1987 80 9 — 1988 72 6 — 1989 77 5 2 1990 61 1 — 1991 44 3 1 1992 76 6 1
Non-Fatal Casualties from Fires in England and Wales, 1987–1992 Year Multiple Occupancy Houses All Hotels/Boarding Houses All Hostels 1987 1,199 77 40 1988 1,052 125 53 1989 1,100 106 93 1990 1,182 137 59 1991 1,214 118 67 1992 1,320 101 47