3.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his most recent assessment of the level of homelessness in England and Wales.
43.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the total housing needs of homeless people.
The most recent figures available give a total of 31,840 households accepted as homeless by local authorities in England in the last quarter of 1989. Homelessness in Wales is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
19.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give the latest figures for homelessness in Yorkshire and Humberside region; and if he will make a statement.
Accommodation was found for 3,100 households accepted as homeless by local authorities in Yorkshire and Humberside in the last quarter of 1989.
34.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what representations he has received regarding the level of homelessness in Leicester.
Over the past year my officers have discussed the problem of homelessness with Leicester city council twice. The director of housing has written to my Department requesting additional resources to help deal with it.
58.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals he has to fund programmes to accommodate permanently people sleeping rough in London.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the implementation of new proposals to deal with the problem of teenage homelessness.
The Government are concerned about the needs of rough sleepers and Departments are looking at the way their policies work together to ensure that appropriate assistance is available. An announcement will be made in due course.
62.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what proportion of households accepted as homeless in 1989 was as a result of a breakdown in family life or because of a breakdown of a relationship with a partner.
Local authorities make quarterly returns of the numbers of households for which they have accepted responsibility for securing accommodation under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Act 1985. They also provide a breakdown of these acceptances by the main immediate reasons for homelessness.For 1989 the figures are as follows:
| per cent. | |
| Parents, relatives or friends no longer able/willing to accommodate | 43 |
| Breakdown of relationship with partner | 17 |
| Mortgage arrears | 6 |
| Rent arrears: | |
| Local authority dwellings | 3 |
| Private dwellings | 2 |
| Loss of private rented dwelling (other reasons) | 12 |
| Loss of service tenancy | 4 |
| Other | 13 |
| ALL REASONS | 100 |
| (Number of households accepted—100 per cent. | (126,240) |
51.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he has any new proposals to deal with the problem of homeless families and homeless single people.
69.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a further statement on Government assistance for the homeless.
73.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he plans any new initiatives to deal with homelessness.
81.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a further statement on the progress of his proposals about homelessness in England and Wales.
I refer the hon. Members to the reply I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Stevenage (Mr. Wood).
52.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to use Government owned empty property for homeless families.
I refer the hon. Member to my earlier reply to the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Miss Hoey).