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 trends in the level of children living in temporary accommodation in Luton.

Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head. However, the Government is also committed to reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation and has already invested over £1.2 billion in tackling homelessness. This includes supporting Local Authorities in the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act, increasing access to the private rented sector for families in temporary accommodation and supporting London boroughs to procure temporary accommodation more efficiently.

In December 2019 the Government announced a further £263 million in funding to Local Authorities to support them to deliver services to tackle homelessness and help households into accommodation. This is an increase in overall funding for homelessness of £23 million on the previous financial year.

Nationally, the number of children living in?temporary accommodation?is down from its peak in June 2006 at 134,470, with 127,370 in?June 2019.

The figures for children living in temporary accommodation in Luton are in the published local authority level tables available here from 2018 onwards:

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

Prior to 2018, the figures for children living in temporary accommodation in Luton can be found in the individual LA level tables (listed under discontinued tables):

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