Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Households in Temporary Accommodation: Quarter Ending 31 December 2002

Description	Housing Statistical Release
ISBN	N/A (Web Only)
Official Print Publication Date
Website Publication Date	May 13, 2003

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STATISTICS RELEASE
OPERATION OF THE HOMELESS PERSONS LEGISLATION IN SCOTLAND:
HOUSEHOLDS IN TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION: QUARTER ENDING 31 DECEMBER 2002

13 May 2003
(Table 4 revised July 2003)

A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

This document is also available in pdf format (108k)

Introduction

This Statistics Release presents information about trends in the numbers of households in temporary accommodation up to 31 December 2002, together with an analysis of the snapshot position as of 31 December 2002. The figures refer to households which have been placed in temporary accommodation by local authorities under the homeless persons legislation. The Release provides information on type of accommodation and gives a separate breakdown for households with children.

Context

Applicants for assistance under the homelessness legislation may be placed in temporary accommodation either as the outcome of the application, or as a temporary measure until the council can complete their assessment and identify suitable permanent accommodation for the applicant. In 2001, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation which placed additional duties on councils to provide a minimum of temporary accommodation, advice and assistance to all applicants assessed as homeless. In particular, from September 2002, councils have been required to provide temporary accommodation, advice and assistance to non-priority applicants who in the past would have received advice and assistance only.

chart

Source: summary HL2 returns from local authorities to the Scottish Executive

Main trends

While the recorded numbers of households in temporary accommodation have risen gradually since the early 90s, with the exception of a trough in the latter part of the decade, recent figures show a marked and consistent increase during 2002 (Chart 1). This increase was initially observed in March 2002, some six months before the commencement of the legislation. The most likely explanation for this pattern is that councils began anticipating their new duties from the beginning of 2002.

From March 2001, the statistics on temporary accommodation have included a separate breakdown for households with dependent children. Chart 1 shows the number of households with children in temporary accommodation falling to a low of 1,169 on 31 December 2001, and then returning to similar levels to those observed in March 2001. Evidence from the data collected on applications for assistance (published in the Statistical Release Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Quarters Ending 30 June 2002 and 30 September 2002) shows that most of the growth in applications in recent years has been from single people (Chart 2).

chart

Source: individual case HL1 returns from local authorities to the Scottish Executive

Households with children in temporary accommodation

Of the 1,457 households with children in temporary accommodation as of 31 December 2002, 84% (1,220) were in local authority accommodation, 7% (99) were in bed & breakfast accommodation and 5% (67) were in a hostel, with a further 5% (71) being placed in other types of accommodation (Table 3). Use of bed & breakfast accommodation for households with children varies markedly by local authority: twelve councils had no households with children in bed & breakfast accommodation, and only three councils had more than ten (Chart 3).

chart

Source: summary HL2 returns from local authorities to the Scottish Executive

Main points

A sustained increase in numbers of households in temporary accommodation over 2002: the most recent figures for the last quarter show an increase of 29% over the same quarter in 2001 (from 3,913 to 5,047).
Just over half of these households (52%) were in local authority-owned properties, with a further 28% in hostels.
After an observed drop in the figures for 31 December 2001, the numbers of households with dependent children in temporary accommodation as of 31 December 2002 (1,457) has returned to similar levels to those observed in March 2001, and 7% (99) of these households were placed in bed & breakfast accommodation.

Households in temporary accommodation by accommodation type: 31 March 1991 to 31 December 2002
Table 1

Period		Local authority dwelling	Hostel ¹	Bed & Breakfast	Other ²	Total	Total households with dependent children
Period		Local authority dwelling	Hostel ¹	Bed & Breakfast	Other ²	Total	Number	% of total
1991	as at 31 March	1,174	1,363	458	160	3,155	..	..
1992	as at 31 March	1,262	1,384	616	173	3,435	..	..
1993	as at 31 March	1,315	1,335	612	310	3,572	..	..
1994	as at 31 March	1,799	1,428	486	72	3,785	..	..
1995	as at 31 March	1,851	1,648	449	80	4,028	..	..
1996	as at 31 March	1,884	1,776	454	100	4,214	..	..
1997	as at 31 March	1,741	1,562	355	114	3,772	..	..
1998	as at 31 March	1,859	1,465	360	80	3,764	..	..
1999	as at 31 March	1,855	1,543	413	53	3,864	..	..
2000	as at 31 March	1,826	1,608	500	61	3,995	..	..
2001	as at 31 March	1,968	1,512	502	78	4,060	1,438	35
	as at 30 June	2,120	1,334	475	73	4,002	1,405	35
	as at 30 September	2,045	1,353	463	63	3,924	1,370	35
	as at 31 December	2,094	1,331	421	67	3,913	1,169	30
2002	as at 31 March	2,152	1,363	569	69	4,153	1,329	32
	as at 30 June	2,392	1,260	653	115	4,420	1,503	34
	as at 30 September	2,471	1,324	706	203	4,704	1,490	32
	as at 31 December	2,643	1,389	879	136	5,047	1,457	29

1. The majority of hostel accommodation is accounted for by Glasgow - see Notes and Definitions.
2. The category 'other' includes mainly housing associations and private landlords. Prior to June 1999 the figures may also include an unknown number of local authority-owned chalets or mobile homes
Notes: Figures from March 1993 to March 1996 include estimates for Fife council. Midlothian figures prior to 30 June 2002 are reported incorrectly since they only related to households placed into temporary accommodation during the quarter.
Figures which have been revised for this quarter's release (as well as percentages) are shown in italic type.

Households with children and numbers of children by accommodation type: 31 December 2001 to 31 December 2002
Table 2

Household type	Local authority dwelling		Hostel ¹		Bed & Breakfast		Other ²		Total
Household type	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
*All households*
as at 31 Dec 2001	2,094	54	1,331	34	421	11	67	2	3,913	100
as at 31 March 2002	2,152	52	1,363	33	569	14	69	2	4,153	100
as at 30 June 2002	2,392	54	1,260	29	653	15	115	3	4,420	100
as at 30 Sept 2002	2,471	53	1,324	28	706	15	203	4	4,704	100
as at 31 Dec 2002	2,643	52	1,389	28	879	17	136	3	5,047	100
*Households with dependent children*
as at 31 Dec 2001	1,024	88	58	5	48	4	39	3	1,169	100
as at 31 March 2002	1,107	83	103	8	94	7	25	2	1,329	100
as at 30 June 2002	1,222	81	85	6	105	7	91	6	1,503	100
as at 30 Sept 2002	1,206	81	93	6	110	7	81	5	1,490	100
as at 31 Dec 2002	1,220	84	67	5	99	7	71	5	1,457	100
*Total number of dependent children*
as at 31 Dec 2001	1,925	88	114	5	81	4	64	3	2,184	100
as at 31 March 2002	2,046	86	156	7	142	6	45	2	2,389	100
as at 30 June 2002	2,322	83	156	6	164	6	153	5	2,795	100
as at 30 Sept 2002	2,117	81	195	7	171	7	144	5	2,627	100
as at 31 Dec 2002	2,407	85	128	5	155	6	126	4	2,816	100

1. The majority of hostel accommodation is accounted for by Glasgow - see Notes and Definitions.
2. The category 'other' includes mainly housing associations and private landlords.
Notes: Midlothian figures prior to 30 June 2002 are reported incorrectly since they only related to households placed into temporary accommodation during the quarter.
Figures which have been revised for this quarter's release (as well as percentages) are shown in italic type.

Total households, households with children and number of children in each type of temporary accommodation by local authority area at 31 December 2002
Table 3

Area	Total number of households					Total number of households with dependent children					Total number of dependent children
Area	Local authority	Hostel ¹	Bed & Breakfast	Other ²	Total	Local authority	Hostel ¹	Bed & Breakfast	Other ²	Total	Local authority	Hostel ¹	Bed & Breakfast	Other ²	Total
Scotland	2,643	1,389	879	136	5,047	1,220	67	99	71	1,457	2,407	128	155	126	2,816
Aberdeen city	3	34	34	0	71	1	6	0	0	7	6	9	0	0	15
Aberdeenshire	53	12	27	2	94	39	0	1	2	42	83	0	1	4	88
Angus	45	0	9	0	54	14	0	2	0	16	33	0	9	0	42
Argyll & Bute	13	14	53	5	85	2	2	8	1	13	2	2	10	1	15
Clackmannanshire	32	0	20	2	54	14	0	2	0	16	29	0	2	0	31
Dumfries & Galloway	29	29	55	20	133	15	1	5	9	30	25	1	12	18	56
Dundee City	65	27	2	12	106	48	7	1	0	56	107	15	2	0	124
East Ayrshire	8	47	0	0	55	2	18	0	0	20	2	34	0	0	36
East Dunbartonshire	59	0	14	0	73	40	0	1	0	41	62	0	1	0	63
East Lothian	51	0	33	0	84	32	0	7	0	39	64	0	10	0	74
East Renfrewshire	8	0	3	0	11	4	0	1	0	5	8	0	2	0	10
Edinburgh, City of	297	2	94	0	393	119	0	12	0	131	248	0	12	0	260
Eilean Siar	8	0	3	4	15	2	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	3
Falkirk	60	45	26	0	131	29	0	1	0	30	54	0	1	0	55
Fife	162	22	83	0	267	76	4	7	0	87	168	9	7	0	184
Glasgow City	799	805	77	0	1,681	332	0	5	0	337	620	0	5	0	625
Highland	32	9	53	24	118	16	2	11	10	39	34	3	16	25	78
Inverclyde	29	27	4	0	60	11	0	0	0	11	22	0	0	0	22
Midlothian	15	0	9	36	60	11	0	0	34	45	19	0	0	49	68
Moray	10	20	3	0	33	10	5	0	0	15	25	7	0	0	32
North Ayrshire	52	67	49	0	168	22	5	2	0	29	53	7	3	0	63
North Lanarkshire	264	0	5	0	269	75	0	1	0	76	158	0	3	0	161
Orkney	29	0	0	7	36	13	0	0	2	15	33	0	0	4	37
Perth & Kinross	14	29	7	1	51	11	1	0	0	12	28	2	0	0	30
Renfrewshire	77	1	24	4	106	47	0	7	1	55	89	0	14	1	104
Scottish Borders, The	2	0	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0	3
Shetland	51	10	0	2	63	17	0	0	2	19	37	0	0	4	41
South Ayrshire	63	46	26	0	135	34	8	0	0	42	61	17	0	0	78
South Lanarkshire	141	58	91	17	307	90	1	20	10	121	167	1	38	20	226
Stirling	19	36	16	0	71	15	7	2	0	24	26	21	3	0	50
West Dunbartonshire	30	0	59	0	89	18	0	3	0	21	36	0	4	0	40
West Lothian	123	49	0	0	172	59	0	0	0	59	102	0	0	0	102

1. The majority of hostel accommodation is accounted for by Glasgow - see Notes and Definitions.
2. The category 'other' includes mainly housing associations and private landlords.
Note: Midlothian figures prior to 30 June 2002 are reported incorrectly since they only related to households placed into temporary accommodation during the quarter.

Total households and households with children in temporary accommodation by local authority area: 31 December 2001 to 31 December 2002
Table 4

Local authority	All households in temporary accommodation						Households with children in temporary accommodation
	Number					Percentage of total households ¹	Number					Percentage of all households with children1
	31-Dec-01	31-Mar-02	30-Jun-02	30-Sep-02	31-Dec-02	31-Dec-02	31-Dec-01	31-Mar-02	30-Jun-02	30-Sep-02	31-Dec-02	31-Dec-02
Scotland	3,913	4,153	*4,420*	4,704	5,047	*0.23*	1,169	1,329	*1,503*	1,490	1,457	*0.25*
Aberdeen City	21	32	33	41	71	0.07	1	9	3	6	7	0.03
Aberdeenshire	78	74	79	85	94	0.10	37	38	48	49	42	0.16
Angus	39	35	30	37	54	0.11	11	7	7	11	16	0.14
Argyll & Bute	31	41	54	78	85	0.22	3	10	19	18	13	0.14
Clackmannanshire	40	55	48	44	54	0.26	21	23	15	14	16	0.28
Dumfries & Galloway	103	103	119	115	133	0.21	29	22	42	35	30	0.20
Dundee City	79	101	103	100	106	0.16	40	48	79	46	56	0.37
East Ayrshire	24	16	29	43	55	0.11	6	5	12	21	20	0.14
East Dunbartonshire	63	64	70	72	73	0.17	41	41	38	45	41	0.31
East Lothian	67	69	84	68	84	0.22	37	40	40	37	39	0.41
East Renfrewshire	14	9	12	16	11	0.03	6	4	6	8	5	0.05
Edinburgh (City of)	276	358	379	386	393	0.18	91	132	134	136	131	0.30
Eilean Siar	4	7	6	12	15	0.13	2	1	1	2	2	0.06
Falkirk	49	57	83	77	131	0.21	24	33	37	36	30	0.18
Fife	197	216	211	233	267	0.17	92	94	97	89	87	0.22
Glasgow City	1,555	1,507	1,524	1,700	1,681	0.60	262	263	316	361	337	0.48
Highland	57	89	100	109	118	0.13	41	51	39	51	39	0.17
Inverclyde	26	34	44	64	60	0.16	0	9	11	13	11	0.10
Midlothian	18	21	171	54	60	0.18	11	8	108	43	45	0.49
Moray	24	30	33	25	33	0.09	10	15	19	16	15	0.16
North Ayrshire	61	132	100	142	168	0.28	17	34	21	32	29	0.17
North Lanarkshire	214	204	196	216	269	0.20	49	59	52	66	76	0.19
Orkney	33	21	36	33	36	0.43	13	8	11	12	15	0.70
Perth & Kinross	25	27	34	32	51	0.09	8	10	16	13	12	0.09
Renfrewshire	110	130	142	158	106	0.14	42	55	52	56	55	0.26
Scottish Borders	25	35	39	54	2	0.00	5	14	10	10	2	0.02
Shetland	55	59	54	57	63	0.67	21	21	18	20	19	0.71
South Ayrshire	111	137	123	142	135	0.27	31	52	41	46	42	0.33
South Lanarkshire	282	246	238	245	307	0.24	111	103	100	95	121	0.34
Stirling	71	72	74	67	71	0.20	18	28	28	25	24	0.25
West Dunbartonshire	28	34	51	69	89	0.21	13	13	17	16	21	0.17
West Lothian	133	138	121	130	172	0.26	76	79	66	62	59	0.33

1. Percentages are calculated using the 2000-based projection for 2002. Due to an error in the previously published data, these figures were revised in July 2003.
Notes: Midlothian figures prior to 30 June 2002 are reported incorrectly since they only related to households placed into temporary accommodation during the quarter.
Figures which have been revised for this quarter's release (as well as percentages) are shown in italic type.

Notes and Definitions

The figures in this Release relate only to those households that have been placed in temporary accommodation by a local authority under the homeless persons legislation. This will include households for whom the local authority's decision and final action is still pending, as well as households that were secured such accommodation as a final action by the authority under the legislation.

Hostels, as temporary accommodation under the homeless persons legislation, are used mainly by Glasgow. In fact, almost all households that live in hostels in Glasgow have been placed there by the authority under the homeless persons legislation. In other authorities, particularly in the cities, there are many households living in hostels that have not been placed there by the local authority under the homeless persons legislation. Consequently they are not recorded in the statistics.

Households with dependent children: dependent children are those aged under 16 who are in full time education or those aged 18 or less who are either receiving or about to begin full time education or training or are for some other reason unable to support themselves.

The following symbols are used throughout the bulletin:

.. not available

- nil or less than half the final digit shown

Note: housing statistics publications, including printable Adobe portable document format and Excel versions of the tables, are available in the published data section of the housing statistics branch reference website: www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref.

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Most recent Statistical Publications relating to the Natural and Built Environment theme (Housing only)

Ref no.	Title	Last published	Price
HSG/2002/4	Household Projections for Scotland: 2000-Based	August 2002	2
STATISTICAL RELEASE	Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Quarters Ending 31 December 2001 and 31 March 2002	September 2002	-
HSG/2002/5	Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter Ending 30 June 2002	November 2002	2
STATISTICAL RELEASE	Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Households in Temporary Accommodation: Quarter Ending 30 June 2002	December 2002	-
HSG/2003/1	Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter Ending 30 September 2002	February 2003	2
STATISTICAL RELEASE	Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Quarters Ending 30 June 2002 and 30 September 2002	February 2003	-
STATISTICAL RELEASE	Operation of the Homeless Persons Legislation in Scotland: Households in Temporary Accommodation: Quarter Ending 30 September 2002	February 2003	-
HSG/2003/2	Housing Trends in Scotland: Quarter Ending 31 December 2002	April 2003	2

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