Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to take to provide further guidance to local authorities on preventing people who apply to those authorities for accommodation from continuing to sleep rough.

This Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why since 2010 we have invested more than £500 million to prevent and tackle homelessness in England. This investment has helped local authorities prevent almost one million households from becoming homeless since 2010.

We already require all authorities to ensure that advice and information about homelessness, and the prevention of homelessness, is available to everyone in their district free of charge. The Homelessness Code of Guidance for local authorities, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-code-of-guidance-for-councils-july-2006, provides statutory guidance on how local authorities should exercise this function.