asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people or households reported themselves homeless in the London boroughs over the last year; and how many were found accommodation of a temporary nature under the Housing (Homeless Persons) Act.

I have no reliable information on the number of applications made under the Act. The London boroughs reported that between July 1978 and June 1979, the latest annual period for which statistics are available, they accepted a responsibility under the Act to secure accommodation for about 15,300 households. The first accommodation secured for about 7,200 of these was in a hotel or hostel.