Homelessness accommodation provision and rough sleeping: May 2024
A monthly publication on numbers of individuals placed into and living in temporary accommodation, individuals moved to long-term accommodation and rough sleepers across Wales.
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In this page
Introduction
This publication covers rough sleepers and the provision of temporary and long-term accommodation for homeless people who present to local authorities for housing support.
Detailed breakdowns, including by local authority, can be found on StatsWales (Homelessness accommodation provision and rough sleeping).
This monthly data collection was introduced during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Since its introduction, Welsh Government and local authorities have worked together to improve the data quality by strengthening the data collection guidance. Wales level data is presented from April 2023 onwards, this is due to improvements in data quality from that time.
Data on households applying to local authorities for housing assistance under the Housing Wales Act 2014 (UK legislation) are also regularly published by Welsh Government. However, users need to be aware of the differences between this monthly data collection and the collection on statutory homelessness.
Please see the quality and methodology section for further information.
Main points
- There were 1,386 occurrences of homeless people placed into temporary accommodation in May 2024.
- 11,591 individuals were housed in temporary accommodation on 31 May 2024. The most common type of temporary accommodation was bed and breakfast and hotels, housing 3,883 individuals.
- 690 homeless individuals were moved into suitable long-term accommodation in May 2024.
- There were an estimated 157 individuals sleeping rough throughout Wales on 31 May 2024.
Use of temporary accommodation
Individuals placed into temporary accommodation [footnote 1] during the month
Figure 1: Occurrences of people placed into temporary accommodation during the month, April 2023 to May 2024
Description of Figure 1: A line chart showing occurrences of people placed into temporary accommodation has fluctuated over recent months.
Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services
Since April 2023, the number of occurrences of homeless people placed into temporary accommodation has fluctuated, between a high of 1,785 in August 2023 and a low of 1,230 in December 2023. In May 2024 there were 1,386 occurrences of homeless people placed into temporary accommodation, a decrease of 14% from May 2023. Of these, 312 were dependent children aged under 16 (a decrease of 34% from May 2023), and 213 were 16 to 24 year olds.[footnote 2]
There have been 17,910 placements into temporary accommodation in the last 12 months. Repeat placements are common; 21% of placements into temporary accommodation in May 2024 were of individuals who had previously been placed into temporary accommodation within the last 12 months.
Figure 2: Occurrences of people placed into temporary accommodation by reason for homelessness, May 2024
Description of Figure 2: A bar chart showing ‘Moved from unsuitable accommodation’ and ‘Other’ are the most common reasons for placements into temporary accommodation.
Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services
Of the placements into temporary accommodation during May 2024, most occurrences came from ‘moved from unsuitable accommodation’ (552 occurrences), followed by ‘Other’ (522 occurrences). These 2 categories account for over 77% of reasons for homelessness. ‘Other’ circumstances refers to reasons other than moved off street, previously sofa surfing, moved from other unsuitable accommodation and prison leavers. Accommodation can be unsuitable for several reasons such as: overcrowding, risk of violence, environmental issues, house needing adaption after discharge from hospital or the resident requiring new supported accommodation.[footnote 2]
Homeless individuals in temporary accommodation at 31 May 2024
Figure 3: Homeless individuals living in temporary accommodation at the end of the month, April 2023 to May 2024
Description of Figure 3: A line chart showing a slight increase in total number of homeless individuals and a relatively stable number of children under 16 accommodated in temporary accommodation at the end of each month from April 2023 to May 2024.
Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services
Between April 2023 and February 2024, there was a gradual increase in the number of individuals in temporary accommodation. Since February 2024, these numbers have begun to slightly decrease. At 31 May 2024, 11,591 individuals were in temporary accommodation, a 6% increase from 31 May 2023. 3,003 of these were dependent children aged under 16, a decrease of 10% from 31 May 2023. This number has remained between around 3,000 and 3,400 since April 2023.
Figure 4: Homeless temporarily accommodated, by type of accommodation, 31 May 2024
Description of Figure 4: A bar chart showing that the type of accommodation housing the largest number of homeless individuals is bed and breakfast and hotels (3,883), followed by hostels (2,030), private sector accommodation (2,001) and local authority stock (1,997).
Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services
The type of accommodation temporarily housing the most individuals at the end of May 2024 was ‘bed and breakfast and hotels’ with 34% of individuals, of which 19% were dependent children under 16. Following this, hostels, private sector accommodation and local authority stock are the other most common types of accommodation used across Wales, though this can vary between local authorities (see StatsWales for local authority breakdowns). Under 16s are most commonly housed in local authority stock, bed and breakfast and hotels and private sector accommodation.
Homeless individuals moved into suitable long-term accommodation
Figure 5: Homeless individuals moved into suitable long-term accommodation during the month, April 2023 to May 2024
Description of Figure 5: A line chart showing that the number of homeless individuals moved into suitable long-term accommodation fluctuates each month.
Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services
Since April 2023, the number of homeless individuals moved into suitable long-term accommodation has fluctuated between around 600 to over 800 individuals. In May 2024, 690 homeless individuals were moved into suitable long-term accommodation, a decrease of 2% from May 2023. Of these, 221 were dependent children aged under 16, a decrease of 15% from May 2023.
Rough sleepers
Figure 6: Number of rough sleepers in Wales, April 2023 to May 2024
Description of Figure 6: A line chart showing that the number of rough sleepers in Wales has been increasing over recent months.
Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services
Rough sleepers by local authority (StatsWales)
As at 31 May 2024, there were an estimated 157 individuals sleeping rough throughout Wales. This is 3 more than the 154 individuals sleeping rough at 31 May 2023. Cardiff (31), Ceredigion (28), Newport (25), Pembrokeshire (11) and Swansea (9) were the local authorities reporting the highest numbers of individuals sleeping rough. All other local authorities reported 8 or fewer individuals sleeping rough, with 4 local authorities reporting zero.[footnote 3]
Footnotes
[1] Neath Port Talbot’s ‘other’ figures are for households rather than individuals.
[2] Disclosure control has been applied to the figures for placements into temporary accommodation and to accompanying data on StatsWales. Figures smaller than 3 have been supressed and shown as a ‘*’. All other figures are rounded independently to the nearest 3.
[3] Local authorities are asked to base these estimates on local intelligence, rather than a one-night count.
Quality and methodology information
Following the introduction of this collection, Welsh Government worked with local authorities to develop this publication and to strengthen the data collection guidance and improve data quality. Due to this development, we saw an improvement in data quality from April 2023, and have therefore started the Wales’ data series from this time point. Not all data is available at local authority level from this date. Local authority breakdowns are provided from the point where relevant guidance had been introduced and used by local authorities.
We do not recommend making month-to-month comparisons, as there may be seasonal impacts on homelessness or other reasons for fluctuations. These may become clearer and further commentary possible as data becomes available in subsequent years.
Most statistics in this release refer to number of individuals. However, for placements into temporary accommodation the statistics refer to number of occurrences of placements, as individuals may be placed more than once.
Revisions
Where revisions have occurred since the publication of last month’s data, figures will differ from those previously published. Figures that have been revised since previously published are marked with an [r].
Statutory homelessness
It is important to note the following differences between this monthly data collection and our publications on statutory homelessness:
- The monthly information relates to the number of individuals experiencing homelessness and being supported by local authorities into emergency accommodation or suitable long-term accommodation.
Our collections on statutory homelessness capture data on number of households, not individuals. That data relates to homelessness as defined by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 (UK legislation).
Rough sleeping
On 8 November 2019, a one night snap-shot count of rough sleepers was carried out across Wales. The results were published in a statistical release on 4 February 2020. Since then, no further annual rough sleeper counts have been carried out, and rough sleeper data is included in this monthly collection. For this data collection, local authorities are asked to base their estimates on local intelligence, rather than the methodology employed for the previous rough sleeper counts.
Due to the different methodologies, it is not appropriate to compare rough sleeping figures from this monthly collection with those from the annual rough sleeper count.
Statutory homelessness statistics for the other UK countries
During 2018, in order to address the problem of inconsistency and support users of homelessness statistics, the Government Statistical Service (GSS) Harmonisation Team explored the feasibility of harmonising the definitions of homelessness for official statistics across the UK. In February 2019 it published the Harmonisation of Definitions of Homelessness for UK Official Statistics: A Feasibility Report (GSS). This report concluded that it is not possible in the short term to develop a consistent definition of homelessness for UK official statistics, due to substantive differences in the administrative data systems and legal definitions of homelessness.
The devolved nature of housing and homelessness legislation across the UK means that definitions of homelessness vary. Data collection techniques for homelessness data have been designed to individually reflect the legislation in each country. Operational differences in collecting homelessness information results in differences in homelessness statistics across the four nations and currently there is insufficient guidance on how to compare the related statistics.
Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.
These official statistics demonstrate the standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value in the following ways.
Trustworthiness
These statistics are based on monthly returns directly from local authority homelessness services. Figures are checked and queried where necessary by Welsh Government statisticians.
Quality
The published figures provided are compiled by professional analysts using the latest available data and applying methods using their professional judgement and analytical skillset. Statistics published by Welsh Government adhere to the Statistical Quality Management Strategy which supplements the Quality pillar of the Code of Practice for Statistics (UK Statistical Authority) and the European Statistical System principles of quality for statistical outputs.
Most of the data included comes from administrative sources which are used in the management of homelessness services. The data is dependent on local authorities maintaining accurate records.
Data for the Welsh Government Homelessness Accommodation Provision and Rought Sleeping Return is collected by Welsh Government directly from local authorities. Local authorities complete data collection forms based on data stored on their respective IT systems and return the completed forms to Welsh Government via its secure web data transfer system.
Validation checks are performed by Welsh Government statisticians and queries referred to local authorities where necessary. The statistical release is then drafted, signed off by senior statisticians and published in line with the statement on confidentiality and data access which is informed by the trustworthiness pillar contained in the Code of Practice for Statistics (UK Statistical Authority).
Value
The purpose of the statistical release is to provide evidence for policy development; to allow local authorities to monitor and benchmark their service provision against all other local authorities in Wales; and to inform for the wider public about homelessness provision and rough sleeping across Wales. The monthly statistical release also supports the Welsh Government’s long-term plan for homelessness: Homelessness strategy.
The release is as timely as possible whilst maintaining reliability, with generally around a 2-month lag between the data currency and availability. Making this information available monthly provides a regular source of data on the provision of homelessness accommodation and rough sleeping.
Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)
The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016.
Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the wellbeing goals and associated technical information is available in the Well-being of Wales report.
Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.