§ Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what estimate he has made of the current number of homeless households in England and Wales which(a) have been accepted by local authorities, (b) are applying to be accepted by local authorities and (c) are outside the priority groups and have not applied to a local authority. [27497]
§ Mr. ClappisonIn the quarter ending December 1995, local authorities in England accepted responsibility to secure accommodation for 27,490 households under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985. At the end of this period there were around 9,000 households in temporary accommodation awaiting the outcome of inquiries into their application for housing under the homelessness legislation.
Households that are outside the priority groups and have not applied to local authorities under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985 are by definition not generally known to local authorities, nor do we have research information that provides estimates of their numbers.
For information on Wales, I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.