Last week, Iain Wright MP said action needed to be taken on a local level to prevent young people from becoming homeless.

In a speech at the National Youth Homelessness Scheme conference, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government stated that his Department and the Department of Children, Schools and Families were committed to preventing homelessness amongst young people.

Mr Wright stressed that local services needed to utilise joint working to tackle the issue, such as through targeted youth support arrangements in housing authorities. He announced that the Government was committed to stopping the use of bed and breakfast accommodation and was encouraging the use of supported lodgings, high quality emergency accommodation and similar in its place.

With regards to the work of local authorities on the issue, the Under-Secretary said he was pleased to see ninety percent of local housing authorities had or were planning to introduce family mediation services, as this supported the importance of preventing young people from becoming homeless. Mr Wright also said he was in favour of peer support and mentoring schemes.

The Under-Secretary also hightlighted the risks young people leaving care faced in becoming homeless. He stressed the 'Care Matters' White Paper's statement that care leavers should not leave placements until they were ready for independent living.