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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the costs to local authorities of supporting people made intentionally homeless.

Where a household is found to be intentionally homeless, but is in priority need, the local housing authority must also ensure that accommodation is available for long enough to give the applicant a reasonable opportunity to find a home. An applicant can ask the authority to review a decision that they are intentionally homeless and, if still dissatisfied, can appeal to the county court on a point of law. Over the next four years the Government will invest £149 million in central programmes to prevent and reduce homelessness in England. We have also protected and maintained homelessness prevention funding for councils, reaching £315 million by 2019/20, to ensure they can provide advice to all those who approach them for help. In addition, £870 million in Discretionary Housing Payment funding is being provided to councils across the Parliament.

Homelessness data, including households who are intentionally homeless, is published at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness