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Homelessness: West Yorkshire

Volume 486: debated on Thursday 15 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were recorded as homeless in (a) Leeds, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) the UK in each of the last five years. (247887)

Information about English local authorities’ actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level. The Department does not hold statistics for the devolved Administrations. Local authorities within West Yorkshire are as follows; Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, and Wakefield.

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 is also collected on the number of people who sleep rough—that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night.

Summary tables showing the total number of households (a) accepted as owed a main homelessness duty and (b) in temporary accommodation for each year since 1997-98, and (c) rough sleeper estimates for each year since 1998, for each local authority, were provided in my answer given to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on 26 November 2008, Official Report, columns 1499-1500W, and are available in the Library. An extract showing data for the last five years for the local authorities within West Yorkshire is provided in the following tables:

Table A: Number of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty during the year, in local authorities within West Yorkshire local council, 2003-04 to 2007-08

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

Bradford

1,038

903

603

868

837

Calderdale

502

1

347

171

115

Kirklees

1,545

1,550

1,041

800

1

Leeds

4,948

2,782

1,882

1,707

1,142

Wakefield

459

326

1

165

136

England2

135,430

120,860

93,980

73,360

63,170

Table B: Number of households in temporary accommodation, in local authorities within West Yorkshire local council, March 2004-March 2008

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Bradford

47

62

64

83

90

Calderdale

50

71

76

53

46

Kirklees

239

259

291

203

137

Leeds

748

501

502

548

401

Wakefield

235

242

131

94

78

England2

97,680

101,070

96,370

87,120

77,510

Table C: Number of rough sleepers (persons), in local authorities within West Yorkshire local council, 2004-08 (mid-year estimates)

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Bradford

0

0

0

0

0

Calderdale

2

0

0

0

1

Kirklees

0

0

0

3

0

Leeds

4

4

1

1

6

Wakefield

3

3

0

0

0

England

508

459

502

498

483

1 Denotes data not reported by local authority

2 Figures that include estimates of missing data

Figures for acceptances and temporary accommodation can be found in our quarterly statistical release on statutory homelessness. This is published on our website and placed in the Library each quarter. The latest release was published on 11 December 2008, and provides national and regional acceptance figures in table 3, and temporary accommodation figures in table 7, both back to 1997-98:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/840324.xls

English rough sleeper estimates and the count guidance are published and can be found at the following web address;

http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/homelessness/roughsleeping/