Homelessness accommodation provision and rough sleeping: October 2023

Background

This monthly data collection was introduced during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

It covers temporary accommodation and provision of long-term accommodation for people who present to local authorities for housing support as they are at risk of homelessness.

For the estimates of rough sleeping and individuals living in temporary accommodation types, we publish a breakdown by local authority. For data on individuals moving into and out of temporary accommodation, we are currently publishing data at the Wales-level only. 

The figures for the latest month should be treated as provisional. These data have not undergone the same level of quality assurance as official statistics and the data may be revised in future. 

Where revisions have occurred since the publication of last month’s data, figures will differ from those previously published. Please use the most recent data, available to view on StatsWales, to ensure the figures you use are up to date. Figures that have been revised since previously published are marked with an (r).

Main points

Comparisons over time

This monthly collection of management information, and the guidance provided, is continuing to be refined and improved.

Welsh Government and local authorities have been working together to improve the reliability of data in this collection. Due to improvements in data quality from April 2023 data onwards, charts showing time series will use April 2023 as a starting point.

Use of temporary accommodation

• Throughout Wales, there were 1,458 occurrences of homeless people placed into temporary accommodation during the month, 140 fewer than in September 2023. Of these, 411 were dependent children aged under 16, 12 more than in August 2023. ^{[footnote 1]}
• Of the placements into temporary accommodation during October 2023, most occurrences came from ‘Other’ circumstances (618 occurrences), followed by ‘Moved from other unsuitable accommodation’ (558 occurrences). ^{[footnote 1] [footnote 2]}

Figure 1: Homeless individuals accommodated in temporary accommodation at the end of the month, April 2023 to October 2023

Image

Description of Figure 1: 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 the month from April 2023 to October 2023.

Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services

• At 31 October 2023, 11,273 individuals were in temporary accommodation, 65 more than at 30 September 2023. 3,403 of these were dependent children aged under 16, 3 fewer than at 30 September 2023.
• The type of accommodation temporarily housing the most individuals at the end of October 2023 was ‘bed and breakfasts and hotels’ with 3,518 individuals, of which 915 were dependent children under 16.
• Between the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the end of October 2023, over 43,600 people who were previously homeless have been supported into emergency temporary accommodation. ^{[footnote 3]}

Homeless individuals moved into suitable long-term accommodation

• In October 2023, 724 homeless individuals were moved into suitable long-term accommodation, 24 fewer than in September 2023. Of the individuals moved into suitable long-term accommodation, 244 were dependent children aged under 16, 29 fewer than in September 2023.

Rough sleeping

Figure 2: Number of rough sleepers in Wales, April 2023 to October 2023

Image

Description of Figure 2: A line chart showing a rise then fall in rough sleeper numbers over April to September 2023, with an increase again in October 2023

Source: Welsh local authority homelessness services

• As at 31 October 2023, there were an estimated 169 individuals sleeping rough throughout Wales. This is 25 more than the 144 individuals sleeping rough at 30 September 2023. ^{[footnote 4]}
• As at 31 October 2023, Cardiff (43), Newport (37), Torfaen (13), Pembrokeshire (10) and Swansea (10) were the local authorities reporting the highest numbers of individuals sleeping rough. All other local authorities reported 9, or fewer, individuals sleeping rough, with four local authorities reporting zero. ^{[footnote 4]}

Developments

Following user feedback we are currently developing this publication which is based on management information. We are continuing to work closely with local authorities to strengthen the data collection guidance and improve data quality.

In this publication (relating to October 2023) we are publishing data in Table 2: Number of homeless individuals in temporary accommodation at the end of the month, by local authority as well as by accommodation type for the first time. In addition, data from April 2023 onwards has moved from the previous spreadsheet format to StatsWales under the Homelessness section. A spreadsheet of data published prior to April 2023 is available to download from StatsWales.

Suspension of the rough sleepers count 2023

The national rough sleeper count was suspended in 2020 to 2023 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

We will consider the long-term future of the rough sleeper count and engage with users prior to the 2024 count.

Ability to compare with statutory homelessness statistics and the rough sleeper count

It is important to note the following differences between this monthly management data collection and our existing data collections and publications on statutory homelessness:

• This monthly data relates to the number of individuals experiencing homelessness and being supported by local authorities into temporary accommodation or suitable long-term accommodation.
• Our regular 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.

In addition, we do not recommend comparisons between the rough sleeping estimates from this monthly collection and the annual rough sleeper count (up to November 2019). In this monthly collection, local authorities are asked to base their estimates on local intelligence. The annual rough sleeper count has a different methodology: a two-week information gathering exercise, followed by a one-night snapshot count.

Footnotes

[1] Disclosure control has been applied to the figures for placements into temporary accommodation and to accompanying data on StatsWales. Changes between months were calculated using the unrounded data, so may not match the difference between the rounded figures provided.

[2] ‘Other’ circumstances refers to reasons other than moved off street, previously sofa surfing, moved from other unsuitable accommodation and prison leavers.

[3] This figure is calculated and not shown in the accompanying data set.

[4] Local authorities are asked to base these estimates on local intelligence, not a one-night count.