§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children he estimates are in homeless households; and if he will make a statement. [45209]
§ Mr. RaynsfordI have been asked to reply.
In the fourth quarter of 1997 about 60 per cent. of the households for whom local authorities accepted responsibility to secure accommodation (under the homelessness provisions of the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts) included one or more dependent children.
The available data on the numbers of children are as follows:
Number Total number of households accepted as homeless 24,810 Of which: households with dependent children 1 child 6,470 2 children 4,540 3 or more children 3,390 14,400