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Homelessness in Lancashire
2007/08

December 2008

Services for the Homeless

Please note that this article details the Lancashire results for the official numbers of homeless households. Anyone requiring information on services for homeless can go to the (External) Homeless UK website , which details the range of help available for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness.

Alternatively, all the websites for the 14 authorities in the broader Lancashire NUTS-2 area contain information about their homelessness services.

Information can also be found on the (External) Shelter website .

Summary

Official numbers of Homeless Households have been on the decline in Lancashire and at the National level for a number of years. There was however still 1,116 households classified as homeless in the broader Lancashire area during the year to March 2008.

Introduction

Complementary Information on the Lancashire Profile

The Housing and Households Area Profile contains a wealth of information. Of particular interest is the number of households living in temporary accommodation by district authority. The past few years has seen the number in the broader Lancashire area range between 250 and 350 households.

This research monitor contains information on the number of households accepted as homeless in Lancashire between April 2007 and March 2008. The figures have been downloaded from the Department of Communities and Local Government website. The (External) housing statistics section contains a 'Live Tables' option that gives access to the homelessness figures. The homelessness results are published each year down to the local authority area level, and for 2007/08, figures are available for all but 11 of the 354 local authorities across England.

The information is used in the development of housing needs indices, responses to parliamentary questions and for policy development on housing issues. Local authorities also need the data for either management purposes or to assist the continued development of housing strategies.

Households Accepted as Homeless

For England as a whole, the local authority with the largest number of households accepted as homeless in the year to March 2008 was Birmingham with 3,644, well in excess of Sheffield with the second highest figure of 1,327. Leeds was in third place (1,142), whilst the North West authorities of Wigan and Salford were ranked in tenth and fifteenth places respectively with figures of 715 and 609 (Manchester had no published figure). At the other extreme, Reigate and Banstead, Isles of Scilly and East Dorset had no households classified as accepted as homeless.

Table 1 reveals that in the broader 14-authority Lancashire NUTS-2 area, Lancaster district recorded the largest homelessness figure with a total of 181 and a ranking of 90th highest in England. Chorley was in second place with 173 homeless households, whilst Preston and Blackburn with Darwen also had figures in excess of 100. In contrast, Hyndburn recorded just eight homeless households and had a ranking of 333, whilst Fylde was just behind with 11.

Table 1 includes rates of homelessness by percent of total households on the Housing Register. This gives an indication of how each local authority may be able to cope with placing the homeless in rented housing accommodation. In Lancashire, only Chorley (4.0%) and Lancaster (3.1%) recorded rates in excess of the England average of 3.0%.

Fewer Households Accepted as Homeless

Example of Specialist Accommodation for the Homeless in Lancashire

The (External) New Progress Housing Association has accommodation in Chorley for 10 young people aged between 8 and 25 who face becoming homeless. In central Preston, the organisation manages 22 self-contained flats.

The table clearly indicates the large-scale reductions that have occurred in officially designated homeless numbers at the national, regional and in most Lancashire local authority areas.

The recent downward trend in the number of households accepted as homeless started in early 2004. The (External) Department of Communities and Local Government website details some of the inititives that are in place to reduce levels of homelessness.

The dramatic reductions in the homelessness figures need to be set in the context that for many households, the cost of buying a house is prohibitive, whilst for others the cost of paying to live in a property is a major challenge. The complementary House Price Research Monitor includes local house price information and also details mortgage possessions proceedings figures and data on vacant properties. In addition, the monitor that considers Housing and Council Tax Benefit levels emphasises the importance of these benefits to may Lancashire residents.

Many households have benefited enormously from rising living standards and until recently rising property prices. There will however, always be some in society who lose their job, face the break-up of a relationship or other personal factors that lead to them becoming homeless.

This page was compiled by Bryan Moulding .

All enquiries from the media should be sent to Corporate.Communications@lancashire.gov.uk .

Any other questions about the content of this page may be sent to EconInfo@lancashire.gov.uk .

For all enquiries about the county council's services , contact the Customer Service Centre on 0845 0530000 (01772 530000) or at Enquiries@css.lancscc.gov.uk .

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