Kate Osamor – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Osamor on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will commission an independent inquiry into the practice of classifying people as intentionally homeless.

Mr Marcus Jones

How an authority should determine whether or not someone is intentionally homeless is set out in legislation and statutory homelessness guidance, which is available to the public and authorities. It makes clear that housing authorities should consider each case in light of its particular facts and must not adopt general policies which seek to pre-define circumstances that do or do not amount to intentional homelessness. We have no plans to carry out a review.

Homelessness legislation ensures that families and the most vulnerable always have a roof over their head. This includes cases where households have made themselves homeless and are assessed by a local authority as being in priority need for accommodation. The law places a duty on the authority to secure suitable accommodation for a period that enables the household a reasonable opportunity to secure their own accommodation.