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Localism Bill

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this debate, including the noble Lords, Lord Shipley and Lord Avebury, my noble friend Lady Armstrong of Hill Top, and the Minister. My noble friend Lady Armstrong set out very clearly what needs to happen, the benefit of early intervention and the problems that she sees emerging on the streets of the north-east. The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, made a very useful contribution, expanding on the points that I made about the report of the Local Government Ombudsman, which is so critical of the way that many councils operate in this field. I disagree with the Minister that the measure is unnecessary and overbureaucratic. I also doubt that a homeless person’s first priority would be to make a complaint to the ombudsman about their situation. The amendment seeks to improve the provision of essential information for people in some of the most distressing circumstances in which they could ever find themselves. It is so important that I feel that I need to test the opinion of the House. Division on Amendment 5 Contents 188; Not-Contents 199. Amendment 5 disagreed. Clause 135 : Duties to homeless persons Amendment 6 Moved by