Information about English local authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level, about households rather than individuals. Hemel Hempstead constituency lies within the Dacorum local authority.
Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available.
Information on the numbers of households housed in temporary accommodation is reported quarterly by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter. The figures include: those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which inquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.
The number of dependent children (or expected children) in these households is also collected, but data on the number of adults are not. The latest (end September 2008) figures for total households and total children reported by the Hertfordshire authorities are shown in Table 1 as follows:
Local authority Total households in TA arranged by authority Total children (and expected children) within these households Broxbourne 57 — Dacorum 13 8 East Hertfordshire 43 45 Hertsmere 59 90 North Hertfordshire 47 44 St Albans 70 79 Stevenage 117 142 Three Rivers 26 36 Watford 75 93 Welwyn Hatfield 103 64 ‘—’ signifies data not reported by authority.