§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what recent representations he has received in relation to the time limit for homeless applicants to appeal to the county court under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996; what research his Department has commissioned relating to this issue; what its findings were; and if he will make a statement. [158071]
§ Mr. LockI have received correspondence from both Shelter and the Law Society about this. Although this research has not been specifically undertaken into this issue, it was considered in this Department's Research Report No. 9/99, "A Regional Study of Local Authority and Court Processes in Homelessness Cases", which was published in 1999 and recommended that further consideration should be given to the time limit. We are considering issues a arising out of the research in the context of the Homes Bill, which is currently in another place.