Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to ensure Councils are able to access the statutory arbitration process for resolving which council is responsible for a homeless household when 1) a referral has been made under section 198 of the Housing Act 1996 2) there has been a failure to agree a referee.

Where there are disputes between the notifying authority and the notified authority over which authority should be responsible for an applicant, the Homelessness (Decisions on Referrals) Order 1998 sets out a process for resolving the dispute. In these circumstances, the Local Government Association will typically mediate between the two authorities to resolve the dispute, and the Local Government Association has issued its own guidance for authorities for invoking this disputes procedure and agreeing a referee.