Homelessness in Scotland: update to 30 September 2021

This statistics bulletin provides information on homelessness in Scotland in the 6 month period from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021, alongside historical data.


Characteristics

Key Points

  • Indications of a return to pre-pandemic levels for age and gender profiles of main applicants as well as household types.
  • Decrease in the proportion of White main applicants and an increase for those of Asian ethnicity.

In 2021, 9,529 (68%) homeless households are single people. This compares to 71% in 2020, with the decrease in proportion driven by single male households which experienced a drop from 50% to 46%. There has been an increase in the proportion of households with children from 24% to 27%, which is still lower than the 30% pre-pandemic.

Chart 6: 2021 indicates a return to pre-pandemic proportions Bar chart showing a breakdown of homeless households by household type

55% of main applications were male and 45% female in 2021. There have been increases in the proportion of those aged 50 and over compared to the previous year (12% to 14%). Consistent with other findings, there have been some movements in the age and gender profiles in 2021, bringing these back in line with proportions similar to 2019.

85% of main applicants in 2021 stated they were of White ethnicity – a decrease from 90% in 2020, and lower than 87% in 2019. There has been an increase in proportion from 1% to 2% in main applicants of Asian ethnicity, although it should be noted this relates to just over 100 households and caution should be applied when considering changes based on small numbers.

Contact

Email: homelessness_statistics_inbox@gov.scot

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