AQW 54898/11-16

Mr Steven Agnew
Green Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 26/02/2016
Answered On Date: 08/03/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Social Development for the definition of rough sleepers, as used by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

Answer:

The Housing Executive follows the guidance used by Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for the definition of rough sleepers, which is:

people sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments);

people in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or ‘bashes’).

The definition does not include people in hostels or shelters, people in campsites, or other sites used for recreational purposes, or organised protest, squatters or travellers.