❓ Hon. Sophia Moermond questions the Minister for Housing regarding the impact of the pandemic on alcohol and cannabis use among unhoused women, and the Department's policies on housing applications related to cannabis use. The Minister states the Department does not collect data on tenants' health conditions or collate homelessness data in the requested format.
AnsweredQoN 452Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SOCIAL HOUSING —
APPLICATIONS — ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS USE
452. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the minister representing the
Minister for Housing:
I
refer the minister to recent research published in the United States that
suggests that an upturn in both alcohol and cannabis use was especially
noticeable in unhoused and unstably-housed women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(1) Does the Department of Housing have any evidence,
for example, complaints regarding a resident's alcohol or
cannabis use, or other such reports to suggest an increase in local use of
either alcohol or cannabis during the pandemic?
(2) Are
mechanisms in place to deny or cancel housing applications when an applicant is
thought to be a regular cannabis user; and, if so, how many times were those
applied during the pandemic?
(3) How many
women in WA were categorised as homeless at the beginning of the pandemic in
March 2020 as opposed to today?
The PRESIDENT : Before I give
the call to the Leader of the House, on first listening, it seems that the
question is trying to elicit a significant amount of information and was not
necessarily concise. I ask the member to have a think about that before the
next lot of questions.
APPLICATIONS — ALCOHOL AND CANNABIS USE
452. Hon SOPHIA MOERMOND to the minister representing the
Minister for Housing:
I
refer the minister to recent research published in the United States that
suggests that an upturn in both alcohol and cannabis use was especially
noticeable in unhoused and unstably-housed women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(1) Does the Department of Housing have any evidence,
for example, complaints regarding a resident's alcohol or
cannabis use, or other such reports to suggest an increase in local use of
either alcohol or cannabis during the pandemic?
(2) Are
mechanisms in place to deny or cancel housing applications when an applicant is
thought to be a regular cannabis user; and, if so, how many times were those
applied during the pandemic?
(3) How many
women in WA were categorised as homeless at the beginning of the pandemic in
March 2020 as opposed to today?
The PRESIDENT : Before I give
the call to the Leader of the House, on first listening, it seems that the
question is trying to elicit a significant amount of information and was not
necessarily concise. I ask the member to have a think about that before the
next lot of questions.
AnswerView source ↗
Thank you for that guidance,
President. The following response is provided on behalf of the Minister for
Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Housing.
(1)–(2) The Department of Communities does not collect data
on tenants' health conditions, including substance- use
disorders.
(3) Homelessness data is not
collated in the requested format.
President. The following response is provided on behalf of the Minister for
Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Housing.
(1)–(2) The Department of Communities does not collect data
on tenants' health conditions, including substance- use
disorders.
(3) Homelessness data is not
collated in the requested format.
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