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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7729 on Homelessness, what information her Department collects to monitor the distance of out-of-area placements.

Homelessness levels are far too high and can have a devastating impact on households affected, as well as putting local authorities and their services under financial strain. Homelessness legislation and the Code of Guidance sets out that local authorities should try to place individuals within their own area, and when this is not possible, they should place the household as near as possible to the original local authority. The Government is clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, avoid placing households out of their borough. However, this is not always possible when there is a limited supply of suitable accommodation.

Under section 208 of the Housing Act 1996, if a local authority places a household into accommodation in another local area, they are required by law to notify the local authority of any placement, to ensure there is no disruption to education or employment. This notification should be happening in every out of area placement.

The department collects data on statutory homelessness applications, duties and outcomes for local authorities in England, including data on out of borough placements. The department publishes data on out of area placements in the quarterly statistics here.