§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what factors underlay the removal of(a) homelessness and (b) temporary accommodation from the general needs index. [592]
§ Mr. ClappisonWe decided to remove those indicators because they do not provide a good measure of the need for investment in social housing. Homelessness figures say much more about the flow of people into existing social rented housing than about the need to build new homes; they are very volatile and their use in allocating capital resources can cause disruption to capital programmes; and they reflect different administrative practice in different local authorities.