There were 100,810 households in England at the end of September 2004 living in accommodation arranged by local authorities under the statutory homelessness provisions (up 7 per cent on a year earlier). More than half of temporary accommodation was provided by the private sector. The government announced a 150 million funding package for new action to prevent and reduce homelessness: an extra 90 million would be targeted at improving the condition of hostel accommodation, and around 60 million would be allocated to local authorities and voluntary sector agencies over 2005-06, to deliver front line services and take forward other initiatives.
Source: Statutory Homelessness: England Third Quarter 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | Press release 13 December 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Links: Report | ODPM press release | Shelter press release | YMCA press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3)
Date: 2004-Dec
A report said that homeless people experienced discrimination by family doctors and other health services, and should be involved in monitoring how such services performed.
Source: Sarah Gorton, Elizabeth Manero and Clare Cochrane, Listening to Homeless People: Involving homeless people in evaluating health services, Groundswell UK (020 7737 5500) and Health Link
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
Research found that 1 in 4 homeless people in London were over 50. Of these, 47 per cent had a physical health problem, and 43 per cent had four or more problems as well as being homeless.
Source: 50:50 TheBIGStat, St. Mungo's (020 8600 3003)
Links: Report (pdf) | St Mungo's press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Nov
A report contained an evaluation of the homelessness strategies of local housing authorities, developed under the 2002 legislation. The process of developing the strategies had been 'a very positive process', and had made a difference to the homelessness picture across the country.
Source: Jarvis Bright (ed.), Local Authorities Homelessness Strategies, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report | Summary | Briefing
Date: 2004-Nov
Following consultation, the Scottish Executive announced that it would introduce regulations banning the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families and pregnant women - except in tightly defined, exceptional circumstances. Accommodation which did not meet minimum standards could only be used in emergency circumstances, such as when a family presented out of hours or where there was simply no other accommodation available in the area; and this could only be used for a maximum period of 14 days.
Source: Press release 11 November 2004, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400)
Links: SE press release | Consultation responses | Shelter Scotland press release
Date: 2004-Nov
A report examined the homelessness strategies of local councils. It looked at the impact of new homelessness legislation (primarily the Homelessness Act 2002 and the extension of priority need categories), the effectiveness of these new laws, and how partnership working had changed.
Source: Roger Sykes, Homelessness Strategies: A survey of local authorities, Local Government Association (020 7664 3000)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Oct
A report evaluated an innovative scheme for preventing youth homelessness, which delivered intensive packages of support through multi-agency working. Most young people in the sample were considered to be less at risk of homelessness after their participation, although the extent of reduction varied.
Source: Sarah Dickens and Kandy Woodfield, New Approaches to Youth Homelessness Prevention: A qualitative evaluation of the Safe in the City cluster schemes, York Publishing Services for Joseph Rowntree Foundation, available from York Publishing Services Ltd (01904 430033)
Links: Report (pdf) | JRF Findings 084
Date: 2004-Oct
An article argued that the neglect of rural homelessness in England stemmed from the inappropriate application of traditional methods for estimating rough sleeping in rural locations.
Source: David Robinson, 'Rough sleeping in rural England: challenging a problem denied', Policy & Politics, Volume 32 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2004-Oct
A campaign pamphlet set out a range of policy solutions to the problem of single homelessness. It was based on a review of relevant government policies.
Source: Tarig Hilal, Hidden Homelessness: 17 Solutions, Crisis (020 7015 1800) | Naomi Parsons and Guy Palmer, A Review of Government Policies that have an Impact on the Single Homeless, New Policy Institute (020 7721 8421)
Links: Pamphlet (pdf) | NPI report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Oct
A research report examined the issue of homelessness and drug and alcohol misuse in Northern Ireland. Drug and alcohol misuse was a significant issue among homeless people in terms of both frequency and levels of use. Of the 154 homeless people interviewed, 37 per cent were current drug users and 45 per cent reported frequent heavy drinking.
Source: Deloitte MCS Ltd, Research into Homelessness and Substance Misuse, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety/Northern Ireland Executive (028 9052 0500)
Links: Report (pdf) | NIE press release
Date: 2004-Oct
A study estimated that up to 52,000 young people were found homeless by local authorities in England in 2003 - about 1 in 60 of all those aged 15-19. Around 1 in 8 of those homeless young people (up to 6,700) might have had recent experience of rough sleeping.
Source: Nicholas Pleace and Suzanne Fitzpatrick, Centrepoint Youth Homelessness Index: An estimate of youth homelessness for England, Centrepoint (020 7426 5300)
Links: Report (pdf) | Centrepoint press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Oct
Campaigners warned that Scottish councils were struggling to meet new duties (since September 2002) to house single homeless people. (Prior to September 2002, a homeless applicant had to be in priority need to get accommodation, usually because there were children in the family.)
Source: Press release 10 September 2004, Shelter Scotland (0131 473 7170)
Links: Shelter press release
Date: 2004-Sep
There were an estimated 508 people sleeping rough in England in June-July 2004, based on a street count.
Source: Estimate of the Number of People Sleeping Rough in England: June/July 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Report (Excel file)
Date: 2004-Sep
There were 99,380 households in England at the end of June 2004 living in accommodation arranged by local authorities under the statutory homelessness provisions (up 9 per cent on a year earlier). The number of households with dependent children or expectant mothers in bed and breakfast accommodation was 1,050, down 72 per cent on a year earlier; 6 per cent had been resident for more than 6 weeks, a fall of 97 per cent compared with one year previously.
Source: Statutory Homelessness: England Second Quarter 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
Researchers found that there was an extensive network of emergency service provision throughout Britain (outside London) for single homeless people, including in many quite small towns and cities. A growing proportion of service users were younger people, many with high support needs. Due to a shortage of move-on housing, a number of emergency hostels were silting up , such that rather than providing emergency accommodation they were simply warehousing especially vulnerable groups making access for others more difficult. Though mainly reliant on statutory funding, the vast majority of emergency services continued to be provided by non-statutory (often faith-based) organisations.
Source: Sarah Johnsen, Homeless Places: The uneven geographies of emergency provision for single homeless people, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jul
A campaign pamphlet said that there were about 380,000 'hidden homeless' people in Britain, approximately the same size as the population of Manchester. This figure was set to rise to one million by 2020, the same size as Birmingham. Hidden homelessness - people living out of sight in hostels, temporary bed and breakfast accommodation, squats or sleeping on the floors of friends and family - cost 1.4 billion every year.
Source: Hidden Homelessness: Britain s invisible city, Crisis (020 7015 1800)
Links: Report (pdf) | Crisis press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jul
The proportion of homeless households in rural England rose by just under 30 per cent between 1999 and 2003.
Source: The State of the Countryside 2004, Countryside Agency (0870 120 6466)
Links: Report (pdf links) | Summary (pdf) | Defra press release | Countryside Agency press release | CPRE press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
A survey of more than 400 homeless households living in temporary accommodation in England showed the 'devastating impact' of homelessness on their health, education and job opportunities. Two-thirds of those surveyed said their children had problems at school, with the average child missing 55 school days a year because of the disruption caused by homelessness. A majority said the health of at least one family member had suffered, and nearly half described their children as often unhappy or depressed. Temporary housing was costing the taxpayer over 500 million every year.
Source: Fiona Mitchell et al., Living in Limbo, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Summary | Shelter press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
The number of households in accommodation arranged by local authorities in England under homelessness legislation at the end of March 2004 was 97,290; this was around 2 per cent higher than at the end of the previous quarter, and 9 per cent higher than at the end of March 2003. The number of households with dependent children or expectant mothers in bed and breakfast accommodation at the end of March 2004 was 830, compared with 1,700 in December 2003, and 4,800 in March 2003.
Source: Statutory Homelessness: England first quarter 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jun
Responding to a government consultation, campaigners examined the impact of homelessness and bad housing on health, and the implications for service delivery and investment priorities.
Source: Response to Choosing Health?: A consultation on action to improve people s health, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Response (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jun
The government said that it had met its own target of eliminating the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families with children by the end of March 2004.
Source: House of Commons Hansard, Written Ministerial Statement 4 May 2004, columns 69-71WS, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Hansard | ODPM press release | Table (Word file) | Guardian report
Date: 2004-May
A report by a committee of MPs said that planning for services for homeless people in Northern Ireland had been 'inadequate', and said that the Northern Ireland housing Executive had been 'complacent' about the homelessness problem.
Source: Housing the Homeless, Twenty-first Report (Session 2003-04), HC 559, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2004-May
A report argued for the development of new ways of tackling housing cost arrears to avoid the use of court proceedings, and offered some key recommendations to break the debt/homelessness cycle.
Source: Jenny Neuburger, House Keeping, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Apr
In England at the end of March 2004, only 26 homeless families with children had been in bed and breakfast accommodation for over 6 weeks. This represented a 99.3 per cent reduction compared with March 2002, when the government set a target of reducing the numbers to nil. From 1 April 2004 it became unlawful for local authorities to place homeless families with children in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than 6 weeks. But a charity said that the narrow definitions used would mean that only around half of homeless families were helped: families not covered by the government target included those in local authority housing and those accommodated by the National Asylum Support Service.
Source: Numbers of Families with Children in B&B Accommodation on 31 March 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236) | The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003, Statutory Instrument 2003/3326, TSO (0870 600 5522) | Press release 1 April 2004, Barnardo s (01268 520224)
Links: Report (Word file) | Text of Statutory Instrument | ODPM press release | Barnardo's press release
Date: 2004-Apr
A report showed that each Emmaus Community for homeless people could provide savings to the tax payer of up to 600,000. The communities offered large social and economic benefits, both in the context of homelessness services and as social enterprises. There were savings in state benefits foregone, and reduced costs to the National Health Service, the criminal justice system and other social services.
Source: Roland Lovatt, Rebecca Foreman, Dawn Marshall and Christine Whitehead, Emmaus UK: Building on Success - An economic evaluation of an Emmaus Community, Cambridge Housing and Planning Research/University of Cambridge (landecon-cchpr-admin@lists.cam.ac.uk)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
A report examined recent changes in policy towards homelessness, health and social care, and their implications for joint working. It recommended 'bold' changes to both the code of guidance on homelessness and the requirements on local authorities to provide suitable accommodation for homeless people in England.
Source: Helen Lewis, Healthy Relationships: Health and social services engagement in homelessness strategies and services, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Summary
Date: 2004-Mar
A private member's Bill was introduced giving a general right for any residential occupier (including members of a tenant's or owner-occupier's family or lodgers) to apply to the court for a short suspension of any possession order; and enabling the courts to limit interest payments to the average rate for a United Kingdom mortgage, in order to provide a period of respite in cases of threatened repossession.
Source: Prevention of Homelessness Bill, Mohammad Sarwar MP, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 16 March 2004, columns 172-174, TSO
Links: Text of Bill (pdf) | Summary | Hansard
Date: 2004-Mar
A report said that some of society s most vulnerable and socially excluded people were finding themselves living in squats because they had no other option. Of 165 homeless people interviewed, around a quarter had lived in a squat. A large proportion had vulnerabilities such as mental health or dependency problems. Most did not appear in homelessness statistics, with local authorities largely unaware of their existence.
Source: Life on the Margins: The experiences of homeless people living in squats, Crisis (020 7015 1800)
Links: Summary (pdf) | Crisis press release
Date: 2004-Mar
Official guidance provided advice on positive shared outcomes that the government would like to see local authorities, primary care trusts and other partners achieve on health and homelessness.
Source: Achieving Positive Shared Outcomes in Health and Homelessness, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (0870 1226 236)
Links: Guidance (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
A report explored the characteristics and life experiences of homeless people whose lives were impaired by poor health, chaotic lifestyles, and limited opportunities.
Source: Clare Croft-White and Georgie Parry-Crooke, Lost Voices: The invisibility of homeless people with multiple needs, Crisis (020 7015 1800)
Links: Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Mar
The number of households in accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation at the end of December 2003 was 95,060, some 1,130 (1 per cent) higher than at the end of the previous quarter and 11,200 (13 per cent) higher than recorded at the end of December 2002. There was a 66 per cent reduction of families with children living in unsuitable bed and breakfast hotels in England, with 3,320 fewer families with children in B&B at the end of December 2003 when compared to the same period the previous year - suggesting that local authorities were on track to meet the target of ending the long-term use of this form of temporary accommodation for homeless families with children by the end of March 2004. A housing charity said that good work in cutting the number of homeless families living in bed and breakfast accommodation would be undone by the failure to tackle the continuing rise in homelessness.
Source: Press release 15 March 2004, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (020 7944 3000) | Press release 15 March 2004, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: ODPM press release (1) | ODPM press release (2) | Shelter press release
Date: 2004-Mar
A report reviewed the implementation of homelessness legislation in Wales. Examples were found of good practice, and of innovative and effective projects. But there were also examples where the legislation and guidance were not being complied with fully.
Source: HACAS Chapman Hendy, Review of the Implementation of Homelessness Legislation, HRR 1/04, Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 3353)
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2004-Feb
A pamphlet said that homeless people needed better access to smoking cessation services. 90 percent of rough sleepers smoked, and they were more likely to smoke high-tar cigarettes and butts from bins, inhale more deeply and leave a shorter stub. This made them more vulnerable to infections and respiratory diseases leading to premature death.
Source: Smoking, Homelessness and Health, Health Development Agency (020 7430 0850)
Links: Pamphlet (pdf) | HDA press release
Date: 2004-Feb
A research report examined homeless people's eating habits. It looked at the kind of food homeless people were eating and how easy they found it to eat healthily.
Source: Alison Gelder, Struggling to Eat Well: Homelessness and healthy eating, Housing Justice (020 7723 7273)
Date: 2004-Feb
Campaigners said that lack of co-operation between social services and housing departments was continuing to hamper the success of the Homelessness Act.
Source: The Act in Action: An assessment of homelessness reviews and strategies, Shelter (020 7505 4699)
Links: Shelter press release | Community Care report
Date: 2004-Feb
A survey reportedly found that 3 out of 4 homeless people regularly had to choose between buying food and paying for other essentials.
Source: Survey by Housing Justice (a Christian housing charity), reported in The Guardian, 22 January 2004
Links: Guardian report
Date: 2004-Jan
