Operation of the homeless persons legislation in Scotland: quarters ending 30 June and 30 September 2007 (including households in temporary accommodation at 31 December 2007)

Introduction

1. This Statistics release presents updated information on applications made to local authorities under the homeless persons legislation during the period April to September 2007. It includes information on the characteristics of applicant households, local authority assessments and the action taken in respect of cases that were concluded. Snapshot data on households in temporary accommodation at 30 June, 30 September and 31 December 2007 are also presented in this release, together with data on the implementation of the Homeless Persons (Unsuitable Accommodation) (Scotland) Order 2004.

2. This is the first release following revision of homelessness data collection which took effect on 1 April 2007. Two local authorities have not yet successfully implemented the new system and were unable to provide case data for inclusion in this release. In addition, we have reason to believe data from several other local authorities may understate the situation on the ground. While the Scotland-level figures for the most recent period include estimates to adjust for under-reporting, the figures in this release should be regarded as provisional and will be updated in due course.

Chart 1: Number of applications and assessments made under the Homeless Persons legislation in Scotland: 1992-93 to 2006-07