Scotland
Homelessness
Key points
- The total number of households newly recognised as homeless rose substantially in the period from 2000/01 to 2003/04, from 33,000 in 2000/01 to 43,000 in 2003/04. Since then, the numbers have stabilised.
- Most of the increase was in single person households without children aged 25 or over. They are now two-fifths of the total number of newly homeless households.
- The increase broadly coincided with the introduction of the 2001 Housing (Scotland) Act and the 2003 Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act which created a recent framework which is much more generous towards homeless people without dependent children than before.
- Two-thirds of those officially recognised as homeless are single adults with no dependent children, and two-thirds of these are men. Most of the others are lone parents, with very few being couples.
- The most common reason for becoming homeless is loss of accommodation provided by relatives or friends.
- Every local authority has a homelessness problem, but Glasgow, Clackmannanshire and West Dunbartonshire have the greatest problems.
- Until the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, local authorities had an obligation to provide temporary accommodation only to those households deemed to be in 'priority need', the most common reason for a household's application being accepted being the presence of dependent children. The 2001 Act means that local authorities now have an obligation to provide at least temporary accommodation for all households accepted as homeless.
- The possibility that rural authorities' capacity to respond to homelessness is constrained by the lack of 'affordable' housing is demonstrated by the greater probability that households deemed to be in priority need are placed in temporary accommodation (63% in rural areas as opposed to 51% in urban authorities) and the heightened likelihood of being accommodated in bed and breakfast accommodation (21% compared to 7%). DTZ Pieda and System Three Social Research, Homelessness in Rural Scotland, Scottish Homes, 2000. This is based on local authorities with population density of less than 300 persons per square kilometre.
- Around 80 young people under the age of 16 become homeless every day and each year, around 11,500 young people aged between 16 and 24 apply to their local authority for housing support as homeless. For Scotland's Children – Better Integrated Services, Scottish Executive, 2001.
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By family type
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Graph 3: By reason
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Graph 4: By LA
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Map
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the number of households accepted by their local authorities as homeless each year, with the data being broken down into three broad household types: households with dependent children, single person households aged 25 or more and single person households aged less than 25. The figures include both households who are 'priority' and those who are 'non-priority'. The small number of couples without children who are accepted as homeless are not shown.
The second graph shows, for the latest year, how the proportion of households accepted as homeless by their local authority varies by household type.
The third graph provides, for the latest year, a breakdown of the reasons why the households were accepted as homeless.
The fourth graph and map show how the proportion of all households who are accepted as homeless by their local authority varies by local authority. To improve statistical reliability, the data is averaged over the latest three years.
The data for all the graphs is the Scottish Executive statistical bulletin entitled Operation of the homeless persons legislation in Scotland.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: medium. While there is no reason to believe there is any problem with the underlying data, the extent to which it leaves 'homelessness' dependent on administrative interpretation means that there is some uncertainty about the extent to which the figures accurately measure the scale of the homelessness problem. Also, not all homeless people apply to local authorities to be classified as such and, for example, the increased in the number of single people applying since 2002 might be due, at least in part, to the widening eligibility for temporary accommodation introduced in September 2002.
External links
See the University of Glasgow Urban Studies Department's paper on structural trends and homelessness.