Annual Scottish homelessness stats 2021-22

Crisis responds to new official homelessness statistics for 2021-22 

Key figures: 

·       13,945 households were in temporary accommodation at the end of the year – 4% more than last year and continuing a trend of increased use of TA every year since 2017. This included 8,635 children, 17% more than the previous year 

·       On average, households in temporary accommodation spent 207 days there (though the average figure is over twice as high in some local authority areas). This has also increased each year since 2017

·       2,015 accommodation placements were in breach of the unsuitable accommodation order 

·       Overall the number of households facing homelessness has increased by 3% compared to the year before (to 28,882)

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “These statistics should represent a wake-up call. Scotland made huge progress in tackling rough sleeping during the pandemic, but fact that more people are spending longer periods of time trapped in temporary accommodation is completely unacceptable.  

“We know how damaging spending long periods of time in temporary accommodation can be – particularly for children and young people. You get a roof over your head, but a B&B is not a home. 

“People are stripped of their dignity and left unable to plan for the future. But while temporary accommodation should be an emergency measure, too often it is treated as the default solution. 

“The best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. By offering people support earlier, and by widening responsibility for preventing homelessness, we can start to reduce the numbers of people in temporary accommodation and make sure everyone has a safe and secure place to call home.” 

Full report here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/homelessness-scotland-2021-22/