Homelessness in Scotland: update to 30 September 2016

Temporary accommodation

( Table 8 to Table 12 and Chart 8 to Chart 10)

Statistics on numbers of households in temporary accommodation are taken from the HL2 quarterly statistical return by Local Authorities. The return provides summary information on households in temporary accommodation at the end of the quarter who have been placed there as a consequence of their homelessness application. Homeless applicants may be placed in temporary accommodation while the council assesses their application or while awaiting the offer of a permanent let. Also, intentionally homeless households, and before 31 December 2012, non-priority households, may have been placed in temporary accommodation as the outcome of their application.

All households in temporary accommodation

After a marked increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation - from around 4,000 in 2002 to around 11,300 on 31 March 2011, the Scottish total number of households in temporary accommodation has generally been reducing to around 10,000 households at the end of each quarter. On 30 September 2016, there were 10,570 households in temporary accommodation, a 1% increase compared with 30 September 2015 (10,473 households were in temporary accommodation at this time-point) (see Table 8a and Chart 8).

Chart 8: Number of homeless households in temporary accommodation in Scotland, from 30 June 2002

However, at the Local Authority level, the situation is more complex. Comparing the situation on 30 September 2016 with the same date one year ago, the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation fell in 16 Local Authority areas and increased in 16 Local Authority areas. The largest numerical decreases were in Aberdeenshire (-80) and Perth and Kinross (-74 households). The largest increases were in West Lothian (+107 households) and Edinburgh (+68 households) (see Table 9 ).

Chart 9 shows that some Local Authorities have seen noticeable increases in the number of households in temporary accommodation in recent quarters. For example, this is clearly apparent for East Lothian and West Lothian. As at 30 September 2016 both of these local authorities had their highest levels of households in temporary accommodation.

The trends in numbers in temporary accommodation are likely to be due to a combination of the changes to the homelessness legislation, the availability of settled accommodation and, more recently, the impacts of Housing Options. A further discussion of these impacts can be found in the annual publication Homelessness in Scotland: 2015/16 ^[5] .

Chart 9: Number of households in temporary accommodation by Local Authority in Scotland, from 31 March 2002 to 30 September 2016

Note: The darker markers on the lines indicate the lowest and highest recorded number of households in temporary accommodation over this period. No axis labels are provided as the chart shows change over time within individual Local Authorities. The maximum and minimum values are different for each Local Authority, and so sparkline comparisons across Local Authorities should be avoided.

Households with children in temporary accommodation

On 30 September 2016, there were 3,174 households with children or with a household member pregnant in temporary accommodation ( Table 8b and Chart 10). This is an increase of 355 such households (+13%) compared to the same date one year ago. Households with children currently comprise almost a third (30%) of the 10,570 households in temporary accommodation.

Chart 10: Households with children or with a household member pregnant in temporary accommodation in Scotland, from 30 June 2002

Note: From June 2007, the figures also include households where a member of the household was pregnant.

The accommodation provided to households with children or pregnant women was mainly Local Authority or housing association accommodation (86%), with a small proportion (under 1%) being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation (see Table 8b ).

There were 5,751 children in homeless households in temporary accommodation on 30 September 2016, an increase of 826 (+17%) from 30 September 2015 (see Table 8c ).

On 30 September 2016, 26 out of 32 Local Authorities had no households with children or pregnant women in bed & breakfast accommodation. Within the remaining 6 Local Authorities, there were a total of 35 households which had children or pregnant women in bed & breakfast accommodation. Three Local Authorities contained 2 households of this type each (Angus, East Dunbartonshire and East Lothian), Midlothian had 3 of these households, Edinburgh had 10 of these households and West Lothian had 16 (see Table 10 ). There is an increase of 21 households of this kind compared to the same date one year ago (14 in total on 30 September 2015, compared to 35 in total on 30 September 2016).

Implementation of the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014

The Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014 came into force on 21 November 2014. It revokes the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2004.

For each quarter from June 2005, Local Authorities have reported on the number of households with children, or where a household member was pregnant, who were in unsuitable temporary accommodation at the end of the quarter, and whether the accommodation provided to the household was in breach of the Order. The figures below show that in the quarter ending 30 September 2016:

• 27 households were in unsuitable accommodation, these were in West Lothian (16 households), Edinburgh (5 households), East Dunbartonshire (2 households), Angus (2 households), East Lothian and West Dunbartonshire (1 household respectively) (see Table 11 ). Compared to the same time point one year ago, the total number of households in unsuitable accommodation has increased by 11 households (16 household were in unsuitable accommodation in the quarter ending 30 September 2015).

• there were 12 households in breach of the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2014 (see Table 12 ). These were recorded in two local authorities: West Lothian (10 households) and Angus (2 households). The number of breaches recorded is the highest since the Order was introduced in 2014 and is double that which has been recorded at the end of any quarter of the past two years.

Please note: All of the tables in this publication are available in electronic format at: http://www.gov.scot/homelessstats