CONFIDENTIAL
(1) Limiting access to subsidised housing
7.
Under my
authorities.
-
forthcoming "homelessness" initiative, I am
proposing to designate certain parts of the country as "pressure
areas", where special rules will apply to local housing
We could disqualify refugees from applying for housing assistance through the homelessness legislation within
these "pressure areas". In essence, this means that local
authorities in those areas London and the South East would be relieved of the duty to secure permanent accommodation for anyone
presenting himself as homeless unless that person could
demonstrate a long-standing connection with the area. When he was turned away, the rootless applicant would have to go to an authority outside the designated areas if he wanted to take
advantage of the homelessness legislation. Outside these areas, councils would retain their present obligations to help homeless people. The policy would apply equally to internal migrants born in the UK, and to other immigrants, as well as to refugees.
It
would require legislation.
(11) Restricting Housing Benefit support
8. Blocking off refugees' access to housing in the pressure
areas through the local authority homelessness route is only a
very partial measure. It might relieve some pressure on council
housing, but it would do little for the housing association
sector, or for the fully private sector. We might operate on
that sector, and avoid the risk of allowing refugee communities
to establish ghettoes of crowded rooming houses funded by Housing Benefit (which pays for 100% of rent at the margin), by applying
to HB applicants the same long-standing-local-connection test.
Within the pressure areas, therefore, housing benefit would not
CONFIDENTIAL (4)