Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the level of compliance of local authorities with the (a) affordability and (b) suitability criteria under the Homeless Reduction Act 2017 when placing homeless households out-of-borough.

As the legislation and guidance sets out, the Government is clear that local authorities should, as far as possible, avoid placing households out of their borough. However, in some areas where there is a limited supply of suitable accommodation, we are aware that, on occasion, it is necessary to place households in temporary accommodation outside of the local area. This should be as a last resort.

If a local authority places a household into accommodation in another local area, they are required by law to notify the receiving local authority of any placement, to ensure there is no disruption to schooling, employment and other vital services.

In order to support local authorities,?the Government has put in place bespoke support in the form of the Homelessness Advice and Support Team, a group of specialist advisors drawn from authorities and charities with expertise in the homelessness sector. The team has contact with all 326 local authorities to provide?challenge, advice, and support on?issues such as?out of?borough?placements.