Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential for stepping stone homes to help address youth homelessness in (a) Uxbridge and South Ruislip and (b) other areas with high levels of homelessness and high private rents.

My department continues to engage with stakeholders in the homelessness sector to support the development of schemes and policies to tackle homelessness, including stepping stone accommodation.

Local authorities are best placed to assess the local need in their areas and determine the most effective services and accommodation arrangements to support young people including in Uxbridge, South Ruislip, Newbury and other areas facing homelessness pressures.

We are developing a national Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit to support councils to prevent youth homelessness in line with the Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness.