Clause 16 - Duty of local housing authority to formulate a homelessness strategy
Homes Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
That is why we want to establish a framework to ensure consultation and the involvement of social services in preparing a strategy. It is up to the individual social services authority to set out what it believes are the parameters that limit its scope to meet the pressures placed on it. Each authority will also have to have regard to its statutory obligations, particularly to young people. The framework allows realistic discussion between social services and district councils before the strategy is put in place. When it is in place, the social services authority should, as it discharges its obligations, have regard to it.
I hope that all the loose ends of the clause, which we have covered exhaustively, have been tied up and that members of the Committee will agree that the clause should stand part of the Bill.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 16 ordered to stand part of the Bill.