Operation of the homeless persons legislation in Scotland: quarters ending 30 June and 30 September 2011 (including households in temporary accommodation at 31 December 2011)

Outcomes

A total of 24,967 cases were closed in April - September 2011 and this is 12% lower than in the same period in 2010. This is a lower reduction in the period than for applications or assessments because of the time taken to secure an outcome for a priority homeless applicant. For a priority homeless household the median time between the date of application and its outcome is around 6 months.

Reflecting the different legislative duties on councils arising from the homelessness assessment, there is a marked difference between the housing outcomes offered to applicants depending on assessment.

• Between April and September 2011, social rented tenancies were offered to 10,494 (63%) of those who had been assessed as unintentionally homeless and in priority need and whose case concluded in the period, with 9,114 (55%) accepting the offer. In the same period, 3% were offered a private tenancy, almost all of whom accepted the offer, and 5% were offered temporary accommodation with 4% accepting the offer.
• Of the 752 households assessed as in priority need and intentionally homeless, in a broadly similar pattern to that in the same period in 2010, 15% were offered a social tenancy, 3% a private tenancy, 32% were offered temporary accommodation and 24% advice and assistance only.
• Of the 1,854 non-priority homeless whose application was concluded in the period, 33% were offered advice and assistance only, 37% were offered temporary accommodation, 5% offered a social tenancy and 8% offered a private tenancy.
• Of those who were not homeless, 61% were offered advice and assistance only.

As a consequence of the increase in the proportion of households assessed as priority as councils move towards the 2012 homelessness commitment, the number of homeless households being offered settled accommodation has increased since 2002-03. (Chart 11). Whilst the number of lets secured by homeless households has decreased, the proportion of homeless applicants securing a let has stayed the same, comparing April to September 2011 with the same period in 2010.

Between April and September 2011, 11,405 homeless households secured a local authority, housing association or private let, a decrease of 6% since the same period in 2010. Of the lets secured, 6,174 were from local authorities, 3,932 were from housing associations and 1,299 were from private landlords. The lower number of lets secured is due to fewer homeless applicants overall.

Chart 11:

Between April and September 2011, 389 applicants were placed in temporary accommodation as the outcome of their application. (Chart 12). The large fall in numbers placed in temporary accommodation between 2003 and 2004 is mainly due to the Glasgow hostels decommissioning programme.

Chart 12: