To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were in temporary accommodation in England in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006, (d) 2007 and (e) 2008.

Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level, about households rather than individuals.

Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes so.

Information on the numbers of households housed in temporary accommodation is reported quarterly by local authorities as at the last day of each quarter. The figure includes: those households which have been accepted as owed the main homelessness duty; those for which enquiries are pending; those being accommodated for a limited period because they have been found intentionally homeless and in priority need; those being accommodated pending possible referral to another authority, and those being accommodated pending the outcome of a local authority review or county court appeal.

The number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter is published in table 7 of the Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness. Quarter four within this table is based on 31 December, which represents the end of calendar year figure. This is available on the web and in the Library:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1173159.xls

Please see the following table: