Homelessness: demographics

Demographics

The Scottish Government publish statistics on homelessness applications, homelessness prevention and households in temporary accommodation. Since 2020-21, the total number of homelessness applications and assessments has increased. The number of households in temporary accommodation also increased between 2020 and 2024.

Based on applications to Scottish councils made during 2023/24:

• There were 40,685 applications to Scottish councils under statutory homelessness legislation, of which 33,619 households (comprising 53,549 people) were assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness.
• 58% of main applicants in households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness were male.
• 53% were aged under 35, and 31% aged 35-49.
• 68% were single households (primarily single men), and 20% were single parents.
• 80% were of White ethnicity.

Experiences associated with homelessness

A recent project attempted to quantify the overlaps between experiences of homelessness, substance dependence, and offending in Scotland - referred to as severe and multiple disadvantage - using administrative data sources (Bramley et al 2019). It estimated that over the course of a year, 5,700 people in Scotland experience all three of these issues - approximately 1.6 people per thousand. When considering lifetime experiences, homelessness was the most common of these. Factors associated with severe and multiple disadvantage included being under 40, single, white, male, long-term sickness and/or disability, and above all both household poverty and material deprivation.

Temporary accommodation

Temporary accommodation includes temporary furnished accommodation, hostels, and bed and breakfast accommodation. Statistics collected by the Scottish Government indicate that, in the five years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were typically around 10-11,000 households in temporary accommodation at any time in Scotland, largely because of long waiting lists for permanent social housing (Scottish Government 2022). The number of households in temporary accommodation then increased steadily, reaching 16,330 on 31st March 2024; the average number of days in temporary accommodation has also been steadily increasing, from 176 in 2017/18 to 226 in 2023/24. At the end of March 2024, 30% (4,910) of households in temporary accommodation included children or a pregnant woman, representing a total of 10,110 children (Scottish Government 2024).

Rough sleeping

• There is no formal census of the number of people sleeping rough in Scotland, in contrast to other areas of the UK
• However, analysis of Scottish Household Survey data suggests that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, around 5,300 adults slept rough at least once in a year in Scotland: this equates to an estimate of just over 700 people on a typical night (Fitzpatrick et al 2019). Newer estimations suggest there were around 720 people sleeping rough in Scotland in 2022 (Watts et al, 2024). Rough sleeping is primarily concentrated in Scottish cities.
• Reports of rough sleeping among people applying to councils for homelessness support fell between 2019-20 and 2021-22 but has increased since then. In 2023-24 7% (2,931) of applicants reported having slept rough at least once in the three months before applying for assistance, compared to 6% (2,144) in 2021-22 (Scottish Government 2024).
• Since the Covid-19 pandemic, efforts to provide safe and self-contained accommodation for people sleeping rough resulted in further declines in the number and proportion of people reporting having slept rough prior to applying for local authority support. Service providers have also reported drastic declines in the number of people sleeping on the streets in major cities, though the 'flow' of new people in this situation was perceived to be fairly steady (Watts et al 2021). Following the end of support for people sleeping rough the numbers have increased.