Temporary Accommodation
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to help local authorities reduce their number of out of area placements in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Alison McGovern
Legislation and statutory guidance is clear that local authorities should, wherever possible, place homeless households within their own area. However, in some areas where there is a limited supply of suitable accommodation, it is sometimes necessary to place households in temporary accommodation outside the local area. This should be as near as possible to the original placing local authority.
As set out in the National Plan to End Homelessness, which can be found here, we are actively engaging with stakeholders to address poor practice, clarify what is suitable and make expectations on sending and receiving councils clear. The Plan also sets out wider work to increase prevention, tackle the root causes of homelessness and improve the supply of temporary accommodation.
On Monday 22 June we provided detailed information on action the government is taking to improve the quality and experience for those in temporary accommodation in a Written Ministerial Statement, HCWS133. Our full response, to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee report, can be found here, and the report can be found here, which covers housing conditions in temporary accommodation. This sets out the immediate actions government is taking to protect households and improve their experience in temporary accommodation.
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