§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on dealing with problems of rough sleepers in each of the past five years; and what estimates he has made of the total numbers sleeping rough for each of those years. [49184]
§ Mr. Paul MurphyThis is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive whose Chief Executive has advised me that research has failed to find evidence of a rough sleeping problem in Northern Ireland. Nevertheless, the Executive is to be represented on a steering group which will provide a "street outreach service" in Belfast, which should assist with early identification of problems and inform decisions on whether any further research may be necessary.