Households accommodated under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
Case reference FOI2026/01648
Received 13 July 2026
Published 14 August 2026
Request
Freedom of Information request: Households accommodated under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
These could be households provided with accommodation under section 17 for a range of reasons, including, but not limited to:
* because they did not qualify for accommodation under the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts
because they were not eligible for assistance (this could be because they have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF))
* because they were eligible for assistance but were found to be intentionally homeless.
I would only like to collect information on the number of families that are currently in housing provided under section 17 of the Children Act.
Please note we are not asking for information on households housed in Temporary Accommodation under housing or homelessness legislation. Similarly, we are not asking for information on households housed under section 20 of the Children Act.
The power to accommodate families under section 17 falls on the relevant social services authority in which the child is present. In a two-tier area, this is the purview of the relevant upper-tier authority (i.e. county council). We are sending this request to you as your authority is the relevant social services authority for the area.
1. The number of households living in accommodation provided by the local authority under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 on 30th June 2026 (or most recent data available)
2. (if available) The total number of adults living in these households on 30th June 2026 (or most recent data available)
3. (if available) The total number of children living in these households on 30th June 2026 (or most recent data available) NB this number may include 16-17 year olds accommodated under Section 17.
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NB I am NOT requesting the number of children or households assisted under SECTION 20 powers.
I understand that many authorities will hold some but not all the information requested. Where this is the case, we would appreciate it if you could provide the information that you do hold and to mark others as 'Not available'. For ease, please place the requested figures into the table below:
|
|
Total number of households |
Total number of adults in these households |
Total number of children in these households |
|
|
|
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CLARIFICATION
We would define a household along the lines set out here - i.e either one person living alone or a group of people, not necessarily related, living at the same address with common housekeeping. All of the examples cited below would be considered households for these purposes.
We are asking specifically for the number of households with children who are accommodated by the local authority under Section 17. We are not asking about any households (including unaccompanied children) who are accommodated under other powers, such as Section 20.
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Response
Freedom of Information request: Households accommodated under section 17 of the Children Act 1989.
These could be households provided with accommodation under section 17 for a range of reasons, including, but not limited to:
* because they did not qualify for accommodation under the 1985 and 1996 Housing Acts
because they were not eligible for assistance (this could be because they have No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF))
* because they were eligible for assistance but were found to be intentionally homeless.
I would only like to collect information on the number of families that are currently in housing provided under section 17 of the Children Act.
Please note we are not asking for information on households housed in Temporary Accommodation under housing or homelessness legislation. Similarly, we are not asking for information on households housed under section 20 of the Children Act.
The power to accommodate families under section 17 falls on the relevant social services authority in which the child is present. In a two-tier area, this is the purview of the relevant upper-tier authority (i.e. county council). We are sending this request to you as your authority is the relevant social services authority for the area.
1. The number of households living in accommodation provided by the local authority under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 on 30th June 2026 (or most recent data available)
Answer: 0
2. (if available) The total number of adults living in these households on 30th June 2026 (or most recent data available)
Answer: N/A
3. (if available) The total number of children living in these households on 30th June 2026 (or most recent data available) NB this number may include 16-17 year olds accommodated under Section 17.
Answer: N/A
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NB I am NOT requesting the number of children or households assisted under SECTION 20 powers.
I understand that many authorities will hold some but not all the information requested. Where this is the case, we would appreciate it if you could provide the information that you do hold and to mark others as 'Not available'. For ease, please place the requested figures into the table below:
|
|
Total number of households |
Total number of adults in these households |
Total number of children in these households |
|
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLARIFICATION
We would define a household along the lines set out here - i.e either one person living alone or a group of people, not necessarily related, living at the same address with common housekeeping. All of the examples cited below would be considered households for these purposes.
We are asking specifically for the number of households with children who are accommodated by the local authority under Section 17. We are not asking about any households (including unaccompanied children) who are accommodated under other powers, such as Section 20.
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Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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