« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
2. Main points
Applications and applicant households
2.1 The number of applications to councils for assistance each year under the homelessness legislation which had remained at between 40,000 and 45,000 per year in the mid to late 1990s increased rapidly from 2000-01 to a high point of about 60,500 in 2005-06. The most recent figures indicate that this rise is levelling out with 59,096 applications recorded for 2006-07 (Chart 1 and Table 1), representing a drop of 2% over the previous year. This is consistent with data from previous years which have shown a slowing down of the rate of increase since 2003-04. Changes in duties to provide temporary accommodation to all those assessed as homeless and the expectation that higher proportions of applicants are likely to be assessed as priority need in order to meet the 2012 commitment are likely to have encouraged applications from households who previously would have received advice and assistance only.
2.2 Since 2000-01, almost all of the increase in applications has been from single person households, particularly in the period to 2003-04 (Chart 2 and Table 2). The legislative changes are likely to have been a major driver of this increase as single applicants have benefited most from the legislative changes. Some of the increase in numbers of single applicants may also reflect wider social change. Household estimates and projections show that the total number of single person households is increasing.
Chart 2: Applications to local authorities under the Homeless Persons legislation by household type: 1996-97 to 2006-07
2.3 Out of the 56,275 households which applied in 2006-07, 62% were single person households and a further 24% were single parent households (Table 7). Households from areas with higher levels of deprivation were also more likely to apply (Table 8).
2.4 Nine per cent of households applying in 2006-07 applied more than once in a 12-month period, with nearly 80% of those being single person households (Table 4).
2.5 Repeat applications are also reported as part of the Accounts Commission Statutory Performance Indicators: using this definition, nearly 8% of applications assessed as homeless or potentially homeless during 2006-07 had been re-assessed within a 12 month period. This proportion has fallen consistently from just over 9% in 2003-04 (Table 5).
2.6 The main reasons given for applying as homeless were loss of accommodation with relatives or friends (37%) and disputes within the household (23%). Single people and couples without children were more likely to give the former reason, while nearly 40% of single parent households gave disputes within the household as the main reason (Table 9).
2.7 Applications where a member of the household reported sleeping rough the night before applying for assistance are the object of performance monitoring in relation to one of the outcomes set by the Homelessness Monitoring Group (see section 3.7). In 2006-07, 7% of applications included a member who reported sleeping rough the night before applying for assistance. This proportion has been dropping steadily over the past four years from 10% in 2002-03. The average number of applicants per month who reported sleeping rough the night before applying has fallen by 27% over the past four years, from about 440 per month in 2002-03 to about 320 per month in 2006-07 (Table 10).
Local authority assessment
2.8 The proportion of applications assessed as priority need has increased rapidly since the late 90s rapidly to 73% of those assesed as homeless by 2001-02, and more slowly to 77% in 2006-07. (Table 1 and Chart 1).
2.9 Assessment patterns vary by local authority: for households assesed as homeless in 2006-07, the proportion in priority need ranged from 90% for West Dunbartonshire, to 54% for Moray (Table 14).
2.10 The increase in priority need assessments had earlier been particularly marked among applications from single-person households, although the trend seems to have levelled out in more recent years (Chart 3 and Table 2).
Chart 3: Number of applications and assessments for single person applicants under the Homeless Persons legislation: 1996-97 to 2006-07
Note: Assessment figures for 2006-07 exclude about 1,300 cases which had not been assessed by the end of the period and are therefore provisional.
Action taken by local authorities
2.11 There were 56,570 applications closed by local authorities during 2006-07. Out of the 24,837 assessed as in priority need, 73% were offered permanent accommodation and 10% were offered temporary accommodation. This represents a marked increase over 2002-03 where 59% of applications assessed as priority need were offered permanent accommodation, although the rate of increase has levelled out since 2004-05 (Table 18).
2.12 Of the 8,246 assessed as homeless and not in priority need, 31% were offered temporary accommodation and 12% permanent accommodation. Among the 4,429 assessed as not homeless, 4% were offered permanent accommodation and 8% were offered temporary accommodation (Table 18).
2.13 Of those applicant households assessed as potentially homeless, about two-thirds did not go on to become homeless prior to the local authority discharging its duty (Table 15).
Households in temporary accommodation
2.14 The number of households placed in temporary accommodation by local authorities under the Homeless Persons legislation increased rapidly from March 2002. This increase has been driven both by the increase in applications and by the new duties placed on councils since September 2002. The homelessness statistics system monitors the use of temporary accommodation through a series of snapshot returns giving information on numbers in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter
2.15 There were 9,164 households in temporary accommodation on 31 March 2007 (Table 20). This represents an increase of 10% compared to the situation as at 31 March 2006. Although the numbers continue to rise, the longer term data indicate a steady tapering off for the rate of increase when compared with previous years, particularly in relation to the increase of 32% between 2002 and 2003 (Table 20 and Chart 4).
Chart 4 Number of households in temporary accommodation in Scotland: as at 31 March 1991 to 31 March 2007
2.16 The most recent figure for households with children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation was 3,235 as at 31 March 2007, representing an increase of 13% from 31 March 2006. Again, the longer term trend indicates that the rate of increase has been slowing down to some extent over the past three years (Table 20).
2.17 As at 31 March 2007, 59% of households in temporary accommodation were in local authority or housing association accommodation, with a further 17% in hostels and 17% in bed and breakfast accommodation. The proportion of households in social sector accommodation has been increasing since 2002 (Table 21).
2.18 Households with children or pregnant women are mainly provided with local authority or housing association accommodation (83%), with a small minority (3%) being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation. The past two years have shown a decrease in the use of bed and breakfast for this group from 7% in 2005 (Table 21).
2.19 On 31 March 2007, there were 88 households with children or pregnant women in bed and breakfast accommodation. This varied by local authority, with 19 local authorities having none or only one household with children in bed and breakfast, and three local authorities having more than ten (Table 22).
Implementation of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order
2.20 For each quarter from June 2005,councils have reported on the number of households at the end of the quarter in temporary accommodation which was in breach of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order.(described in section 3.5). The snapshot figures show:
- Nine councils reported breaches of the order on 31 March 2007, affecting 34 households, this shows a drop from 55 reported breached at 31 March 2006. The most recent figure represents 1% of households with children or pregnant women in temporary accommodation at that point.
- Fourteen local authorities had no breaches of the Order at any time point.
- Around two-thirds of local authorities did not have any breaches of the Order at any single time point.
- Nine local authorities had five or more breaches at some time point.
Time trends for these figures will be reported as more data become available.
Housing outcomes
2.21 Of the 24,841 applications assessed as priority need and actioned during 2006-07, 73% were re-housed in permanent accommodation, 4% secured temporary accommodation and 6% returned to their previous/present accommodation. Reflecting the increases in applications as well as the increasing proportion of households assessed as in priority need, the overall number of applicant households securing permanent accommodation has increased markedly over the past three years (Chart 5 and Tables 25 and 26).
Chart 5: Outcomes of homelessness applications 2002-03 to 2006-07
2.22 Seventy seven per cent of households with children assessed as in priority need secured permanent accommodation, as did 67% of single-person households assessed as priority (Table 25).
2.23 Of those in priority need, the proportion securing permanent accommodation varied between councils from 88% in Dundee to 39% in Midlothian (Table 26). A relatively high proportion (17%) of priority homeless in Glasgow were reported to have secured temporary accommodation: this is likely to consist in the main of accommodation provided under the interim accommodation regulations, and use of this type of service will be picked up in future by the revised HL1 return implemented in April 2007.
« Previous | Contents | Next »