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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 6 January (HL3874), whether they intend to commission research into the causes of homeless households being placed in temporary accommodation outside their home authority.

This Government has made it clear that no council should be sending tenants en masse to a different part of the country. We have strengthened the law so that when considering the suitability of location, housing authorities must now take account of the impact a change in location would have on individual households – including possible disruption to things like employment and schooling.

This Government has made more than £1 billion available over this spending round to prevent and tackle homelessness and support vulnerable households affected by welfare reform.

London Boroughs account for 93% of households provided with temporary accommodation in another district. London councils have previously said that the vast majority of out of borough placements are within London, or where that is not the case, are local to the placing Borough.

In that context, we have no current plans to commission research.