Tracy Brabin
Main Page: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)
Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)
Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)
Paula Sherriff (Dewsbury) (Lab)
Sajid Javid
The hon. Lady is talking about trends. Let me remind her that statutory homelessness acceptances reached their peak in 2003 under the previous Labour Government, and since then they have come down by more than a half. But of course there is much more to do, and she is right to highlight this issue. That is why I am sure that she will welcome all the work that this Government are doing in this area, including £1 billion of dedicated funding over this spending period.
Tracy Brabin
According to Shelter, one in 2,122 people in Kirklees is currently homeless. My local drop-in homeless shelter has seen numbers double in the past six months alone, with the biggest cause being the termination of private rental agreements. What is the Secretary of State doing to make tenancies more secure, and what steps is he taking to tackle soaring private rents?
Sajid Javid
Again, the hon. Lady is right to emphasise this issue, which many Members on both sides of the House have worked hard on. I thought she would welcome the funding we are providing, including the announcements made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor just a couple of weeks ago on more funding to tackle homelessness, which will help in all constituencies, and the ministerial taskforce, which will make an effort across Government.