Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Hanham (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 1 November 2006.

Children: Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation

Question: My Lords, is the Minister aware of the considerable number of priority categories that have to be taken into account by housing authorities in fulfilling their statutory obligation not to house the homeless in bed-and-breakfast accommodation? Does she think that satisfying those requirements militates against local authorities’ ability to place families together in permanent accommodation at the earliest stage of homelessness?

Answer: My Lords, again, one strives for a balance. Within the categories for priority needs are extremely vulnerable people: a person aged 16 or 17; a person under 21 who was, but is no longer, looked after; a person aged 21 or more who is vulnerable as the result of being looked after; a person who is vulnerable as having been a member of Her Majesty's forces. Those are categories of vulnerability and local authorities are to be congratulated on how they try to meet those needs alongside their other housing responsibilities.

Secondary information