To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2007, Official Report, column 657W, on homelessness: hostels, how many single homeless people are living in hostel accommodation being upgraded under the Hostel Capital Improvement Programme. (136531)

There are currently 175 homelessness projects in the Hostels Capital Improvement Programme. The HCIP not only covers hostels but also day centres and other projects that provide training and real work experience for people who are homeless or living in a hostel. There are currently around 7,500 bedspaces in hostels in the programme. The Department does not collect information on the numbers of single homeless people living in hostel accommodation.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which bids for the recent Hostel Capital Improvement Programme funding were unsuccessful. (136536)

The £90 million Hostels Capital Improvement Programme ends in March 2008 and has been fully allocated with the aim of making hostels places of change. Where HCIP projects have been unable to proceed for reasons of planning or where a suitable site was subsequently lost, we have re-allocated the funds which has not involved formal bidding. In these cases new projects have been brought into the programme where they fit with the programme’s aims and are supported by the relevant local authority. Where a local authority identifies a possible project, they are advised to approach CLG even though the programme is fully allocated in order to take advantage of any slippage which may occur.