The noble Baronesses are mistaken in suggesting that the application of the new clause should run for two years from the time at which accommodation is provided as a result of the duty under Clause 183. The authority may seek to maintain the person who is threatened with homelessness in his present accommodation either for a few more months or, in some cases, indefinitely. Therefore the requirements imposed by the clause could continue to be in place almost indefinitely. The family who would gain will have been provided with perfectly reasonable accommodation for two years. The family who would lose could be living in damp conditions with poor sanitation and with no prospect of improving those conditions except through an offer of a tenancy through the housing register.
Social housing is intended for people with real long-term needs.
It is generally taken up by people who cannot secure accommodation for themselves in the housing market in a way in which the majority of the population can. I suggest that it is wrong to suppose that social housing should go to people who could provide for themselves in other ways. The noble Baroness misses the point. The family accepted as homeless is given suitable accommodation for two years and families on the waiting list may be in much worse accommodation. I am sure your Lordships agree that they are the ones to be given priority.