Asked by: Earl of Listowel (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families have been living in temporary accommodation in each of the last five years.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head.
The government has undertaken a significant programme of work backed by over £1.2 billion, to tackle homelessness. This includes supporting local authorities in the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, increasing access to the private rented sector for families in temporary accommodation (TA) and supporting London boroughs to procure TA more efficiently.
Last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all.
The following data refers to the number of households with children who were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March on each of the past 5 years.
31 March 2015: 51,210
31 March 2016: 56,430
31 March 2017: 60,980
31 March 2018: 61,610
31 March 2019: 62,010
Asked by: Earl of Listowel (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children have been living in temporary accommodation in each of the last five years.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head.
The government has undertaken a significant programme of work backed by over £1.2 billion, to tackle homelessness. This includes supporting local authorities in the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, increasing access to the private rented sector for families in temporary accommodation (TA) and supporting London boroughs to procure TA more efficiently.
Last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all
The number of children living in temporary accommodation is down from its peak in June 2006 at 130,470, with 126,020 in March 2019.
The following data refers to the number of children who were living in temporary accommodation on 31 March on each of the past 5 years.
31 March 2015: 98,620
31 March 2016: 111,060
31 March 2017: 120,520
31 March 2018: 123,520
31 March 2019: 126,020
Asked by: Earl of Listowel (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which families living in temporary accommodation are experiencing isolation; and what steps they intend to take to mitigate such isolation.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government has undertaken a significant programme of work backed by over £1.2 billion, to tackle homelessness. This includes supporting Local Authorities in the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, providing £19.5 million through PRS Access fund to increase access to the private rented sector for families in temporary accommodation (TA), committing £40 million to support London boroughs to procure TA more efficiently and providing the Flexible Homelessness Support Grant, a £617 million fund towards homelessness services.
Last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy. This sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all.
We are clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, avoid placing households out of their borough. However, in some areas where there is a limited supply of suitable accommodation, we are aware that, on occasion, it is necessary to place households in accommodation outside of the local area. This is set out in legislation and guidance which local authorities must have regard to.
Homeless households have legal rights to request a review of a decision to place them in unsuitable accommodation.
Asked by: Earl of Listowel (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards reducing the numbers of care leavers who are (1) rough sleeping, and (2) homeless, in 2019; and what steps they are taking to achieve further reductions in those numbers.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Earl of Listowel (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that teachers, nurses and social workers can afford to live in areas of high cost housing.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
We have strengthened the revised National Planning Policy Framework so that local authorities are expected to have planning policies which identify homes needed for different groups in the community. The Framework acknowledges that essential local workers, including teachers, nurses and social workers, are a group that may require access to affordable housing. Local authorities should consider this when setting local policies. Where there is identified need, local authorities may seek to introduce policies that support the delivery of affordable housing for essential local workers.
The Department for Health and Social Care have taken specific steps to support essential staff in accessing affordable housing in high cost areas. This includes the introduction of a national expectation that, when local NHS estate owners are disposing of surplus land, NHS staff will be offered first refusal on all affordable housing built on the land.