To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, if he will make a statement on trends in the numbers of homeless households in priority need since May 1997. [119760]

The latest Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Statistical Release on statutory homelessness, covering figures for England in the first quarter of 2003, was published on 17 June. Table 1 of the statistical release shows the number of households accepted by local housing authorities in England as homeless and in priority need under the homelessness legislation for each year from 1997–98 to 2002–03, with a quarterly breakdown of figures for each quarter since 1 January 2000. Copies of the statistical release are available in the Library of the House.