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Homelessness (A8 Nationals)

The hon. Gentleman is right that it is not only the younger and better skilled who face problems. Many have lower skills or, as he said, have poor English or face other challenges. It is important to ensure that we address both problems. We need to respond to the needs that arise, but we must also to try to discourage people who are not able to support themselves or take up employment from coming here in the first place. That is our clear policy approach. I shall continue my response to the hon. Member for Cities of London and Westminster. Although the overall impact of migration has been positive for Britain, the focus of today’s debate is the small number who have been unable to access employment to support themselves and who therefore find themselves on the streets. Some may find themselves on the streets temporarily and are swiftly able to get back on their feet, perhaps with a good chance of getting a job. Others should not have come here. Perhaps they are too vulnerable or are for other reasons unable to take advantage of job opportunities in the capital and elsewhere in the country. Instead, they may need help to return to their home countries. The Government welcome nationals of countries within the European economic area, including the 2004 accession countries, who wish to come here to work or study or who are otherwise self-sufficient. As from 1 January 2007, when Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU, the Government decided to limit access to our labour market for nationals of those countries for a transitional period. Regulations are in place to ensure that EEA nationals cannot come to the UK who have no intention of supporting themselves, nor will they be able to access the local authority housing and homelessness assistance funded by the UK taxpayer. Those who are working or self-employed, and their family members, are eligible to apply for assistance, but proper safeguards are important to ensure that the programme works as intended. The Department assesses the impact on homelessness services and on housing overall. Last August, research published by Homeless Link evidenced the issues of A8 nationals when using homelessness services. It suggested that, where there is an impact, it is mainly on London homelessness services rather than at a national level. The vast majority of people using homelessness services were able-bodied young men who were fit for work and who might, as I said earlier, be able to access jobs if they were given the right support. It is important to recognise that many people may not start off as vulnerable, but, if they live for long periods on the streets and face very difficult circumstances, they can become vulnerable and get into particularly difficult circumstances over time. That is an issue that agencies need to respond to. The most recent rough sleeper counts in Westminster suggest that there are around 30 rough sleepers on the streets from the A8 countries. It is important to look at the scale of the issue that we face. It is clear that Westminster faces many of the greatest pressures associated with homelessness, which is why we provided £6.6 million for next year in homelessness grants to deal with the wider issues. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that huge progress has been made in dealing with rough sleeping, preventing homelessness and helping people off the streets and into proper accommodation. The investment put in alongside homelessness strategies has made a huge difference and the strength of those strategies has been that they focus on the individual causes of homelessness and on individual needs. Rather than adopting a blanket approach, consideration has been given to the particular circumstances of the individual homeless. That is the key to addressing the problems of people from A8 countries who are homeless. The Homeless Links research is to be welcomed as it provided important evidence regarding the impact on services. My Department has used that research when working with the local authorities in central London most affected by homeless A8 nationals. We have also used it to work across Government. The issues are wider than homelessness and include access to employment advice, which is important. The Department has worked with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to look at issues around access to jobcentre services, including Jobcentre Plus facilities. Many people are economic migrants who are looking for work, and help getting them into employment can prevent homelessness. The hon. Gentleman mentioned the invest to save programme set out by the Home Office a few years ago. That provided £257,000 to Westminster city council, spread over a number of years, to implement a package of measures, including working with The Passage, and there was some success in working with that group. Part of that work included supporting people to return to their home country if it was inappropriate for them to provide for themselves or become self-sufficient here. The Department for Communities and Local Government has given £100,000 in this financial year to continue to support A8s and my ministerial colleagues in the Home Office have just confirmed that they will provide an additional £100,000 for 2007-08. In particular, that will provide interpretation services and dedicated police community support officers to assist and advise vulnerable people from the A8 countries. We have also announced an additional £140,000 this year to other central London local authorities, including around £20,000 for Hammersmith and Fulham, which was in recognition of the potential impact on homelessness services from A8 nationals. Additional funding this year is, of course, on top of more than £20 million of grant funding from my Department to London boroughs towards the prevention and reduction of homelessness. A further £8.7 million has gone directly to the voluntary sector in London, in which many people work directly with the street homeless. It is important to recognise that the vast majority of investment that goes into homelessness services is about addressing the needs of those who are most vulnerable and who may have been in the capital for a long time—either long-standing residents or people who have ended up in London after travelling from other parts of the country. The number of A8 nationals who need support is still small in proportion to the number of homeless people being helped across the capital. On 24 October 2006, the Government announced a package of measures on managing migration to the UK. Last December, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government met local government representatives to explore some issues facing the sector in managing migration. Many towns and cities, including Westminster, are keen to work with us on developing best practice and in taking forward the work of the Improvement and Development Agency and the Audit Commission to ensure that residents can work as part of a programme and address the issues raised by migration. We know that migration can have a hugely positive impact on local economies, and to provide support for local services it is important to ensure that the issue is handled, addressed and managed in a way that can benefit all the community. The newly launched Commission on Integration and Cohesion will look at how local authorities and community organisations can play a greater role in ensuring that new migrants learn English and contribute to our economy. The hon. Gentleman raised wider issues around housing pressures in his constituency and across the capital in general. He will know that the Government strongly feel that we face housing pressures—not simply in London, but across the country—as a result of the ageing population and the fact that more people are living alone. There are a series of reasons for the growth in housing demand, and the impact has been to push up house prices. House building across the country has not kept up with rising housing demand, so it is important that we increase the number of new homes built each year. Nationwide, we need to build around 200,000 new homes a year and we should be building more private, shared ownership and social housing. We need all three types of housing, and that is also the case in London. The hon. Gentleman raised the particular challenges faced by those on middle incomes or those who are public sector workers. They can find themselves pressurised in high-cost parts of the capital where they earn too much to be eligible for social housing, but simply cannot afford the high house prices. That is why we have supported the expansion of shared ownership. Local authorities should also look at other measures, such as supporting mobility to other parts of the capital and to other areas. It also important to recognise that people from every income group have needs and that we should ensure that we are helping those on lower and middle incomes at the same time. We have asked John Hills to look more widely at the long-term approach to social housing to ensure that we have mixed communities. We need to build more homes of all kinds in the capital and across the country to meet housing needs for the future. Question put and agreed to.