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<p>This Government has invested over £500 million since 2010 to tackle all forms of
homelessness and rough sleeping. The homelessness legislation in England provides
one of the strongest safety nets in the world for families with children and vulnerable
people who become homeless through no fault of their own. Until settled accommodation
is available households will be placed in suitable temporary accommodation. In considering
suitability housing authorities must, by law, consider whether the accommodation is
affordable for the applicant, its size, its condition, its accessibility and also
its location. We have made it clear that no council should be sending tenants en masse
to a different part of the country.</p><p> </p><p>The numbers of households in temporary
accommodation is well below the peak under the previous administration, when they
hit 101,000 in 2004. Councils have a responsibility to move homeless households into
settled accommodation as quickly as possible. That is why we changed the law so that
councils can place families in decent and affordable private rented homes more quickly.
This will mean homeless households will not have to wait as long for settled accommodation,
spending less time in temporary accommodation. Households now spend on average seven
months less in temporary accommodation than at the start of 2010.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p>
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