Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to tackle homelessness among people aged under 25.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This Government is committed to tackling homelessness, especially amongst vulnerable young people.
We have implemented the Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform of homelessness legislation in decades. It has greatly expanded the duties on local housing authorities, meaning many young people, who may not previously have been eligible for support, are now being helped. The new duties should help prevent homelessness before it occurs. The Act also places a duty on public bodies, including Children’s Services, ensuring better partnership working between public bodies and local authorities.
As part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, the government committed £3.2 million per annum to increase the support provided to?care leavers?at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping. The funding has been allocated to the 47 local authorities with the highest number of care leavers with complex needs.
We fund St Basil’s to deliver positive pathway events with local authority housing teams to share best practice on supporting young homeless people and ensure they are putting prevention and early help at the heart of their service.
We have put in place bespoke support for local authorities through our Homelessness Advice and Support Team, which includes dedicated youth homelessness advisers.
Finally, we?have updated?guidance on the ‘Prevention of homelessness and provision of accommodation for 16 and 17-year-old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation’ setting out the respective duties of children’s services and housing services.
Asked by: Siobhan Baillie (Conservative - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people under the age of 25 who are (a) homeless and (b) at risk of homelessness in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The table below contains the number of households where the main applicant was under 25 in Gloucestershire during April to June 2019 where the household was assessed as owed a prevention or relief duty, and additionally the number of 18-24 year olds living in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2019 in Gloucestershire. Relief and main duties are owed to those currently homeless. Those at risk of homelessness are those owed a prevention duty.
| Households where the main applicant was under 25 assessed during April to June 2019: | 18-24 year olds living in in Temporary accommodation on 30th June 2019 | ||
| Threatened with homelessness, owed a prevention duty | Homeless, owed a relief duty | Homeless, unintentionally homeless, and in priority need, owed a main duty | |
Gloucestershire | 106 | 125 | 38 | 81 |
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1. Gloucestershire includes the local authority areas of Cheltenham, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Cotswold, South Gloucestershire, Stroud, and Tewkesbury. | ||||
2. Temporary Accommodation data cannot include 1 legacy case recorded in Cheltenham, where the household contained no age information. | ||||
3. Under 25 includes 16 and 17 year olds where they are the main applicant. There were no 16-17 year olds living in temporary accommodation as the oldest household member. | ||||
In December 2019 we announced the allocation of £263 million in funding for 2020/21 to local authorities designed to support them to deliver services to tackle homelessness. The purpose of this funding is to give local authorities more control and flexibility in managing homelessness pressures and supporting those who at risk of homelessness, including providing them with temporary accommodation.