3.1 Total initial assessments and reasons for homelessness

The term ‘initial assessments’ refers to the assessment process undertaken by our Housing Caseworkers when a person, or household is either homeless, or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. It is an indicator of overall demand for housing advice and support. When initial assessments are undertaken, a Personalised Housing Plan (PHP) is completed with the lead applicant of the household. This is a collaboratively produced bespoke plan which assesses the circumstances and specific needs of a household and sets out the steps that should be taken by both the Housing Caseworker and the lead applicant in order to resolve their housing difficulties.

In total, initial assessments have been undertaken for 2490 households since the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act in April of 2018. Of those, 2480 have been assessed as being owed either;

• A prevention duty because they were threatened with homelessness within 56 days or;
• A relief duty because they were already homeless at the time of their initial assessment.

Demand for the service has remained fairly consistent over the past three and a half years, although we have seen some spikes in demand, for example between January and March of 2020, and between July and September of 2020.

The Graph below shows the total number of households who have presented, or who have been referred to our Housing Solutions Service since the enactment of the Homelessness Reduction Act in April of 2018.

Reasons for Homelessness

The next graph shows the reasons for homelessness for those households owed a prevention duty between April 2020 and June 2021.

The top five reasons for homelessness were:

            1. Ending of an assured short hold tenancy: 176 households

            2. Friends or family no longer being willing to accommodate: 145 households

            3. Ending of a social tenancy: 107 households

            4. Non-violent relationship breakdown with partner: 86 households

            5. Domestic abuse: 56 households

The next graph shows the reasons for homelessness for those households owed a relief duty between April 2020 and June 2021.

The top five reasons for homelessness were:

            1. Ending of an assured short hold tenancy: 49 households
            2. Friends or family no longer being willing to accommodate: 34 households
            3. Non-violent relationship breakdown with partner: 21 households
            4. Domestic abuse: 20 households
            5. Evictions from supported housing: 11 households.

3.2 Support needs of households needing housing support

When a Personalised Housing Plan is completed, we record the specific support needs of the household requiring housing assistance.

The majority of households for whom initial assessments have been undertaken since April 2018 have disclosed that they have one or more support needs.

• 1911 households have identified that they have one or more support needs
• 569 households over the same period have disclosed that they do not have any identifiable support needs.

Of those households who have identified that they have support needs, a high proportion of have multiple support needs, i.e. three or more.

• 912 households identified three or more support needs
• 416 households identified 2 support needs
• 583 households identified 1 support need.

3.3 Types of Support Needs

A breakdown follows of the specific support needs identified by households and individuals who have approached our service between April 2018 and June 2021. The categories recorded are a statutory requirement and are reported to central Government on a quarterly basis.

The data shows that mental health issues, physical ill health and disability, being a victim of domestic abuse and repeat homelessness are areas of high need for our clients.

1) Young People in Need of support
                        a) 16 or 17 year old: 82 households
                        b) 18-25 year old requiring support: 168 households
                        c) Young parent requiring support: 31 households
                        d) Care Leaver aged 18-20: 59 Households
                        e) Care leaver aged 21 and over: 75 households

2) Physical ill health and disabilities, history of mental health issues and learning disabilities:
            a) People with physical ill health and/ or a physical disability: 926 households
            b) People with a history of mental health problems: 1181 households
            c) People with a learning disability: 324 households

3) Drug and Alcohol Dependency
            a) People with a disclosed drug dependency issue: 235 households
            b) People with a disclosed alcohol dependency issue: 221 households

4) Offending history
            a) People with a history of offending and criminal convictions: 416 households
            5) Domestic violence and sexual abuse (DVSA) and exploitation
            a) At risk of/ has experienced sexual abuse or exploitation: 178 households
            b) At risk of/ has experienced domestic abuse: 503 households
            c) At risk of/ has experienced abuse (non-domestic abuse) 225 households

5) Domestic violence and sexual abuse (DVSA) and exploitation
            a) At risk of/ has experienced sexual abuse or exploitation: 178 households
            b) At risk of/ has experienced domestic abuse: 503 households
            c) At risk of/ has experienced abuse (non-domestic abuse) 225 households

6) Repeat homelessness and a history of rough sleeping
            a) People who have a history of repeat homelessness: 380 households
            b) People who have a history of rough sleeping: 289 households

7) Additional support needs:
            a) Old age: 123 households
            b) People who have served in the armed forces: 89 households
            c) Need support with employment, education or training 125 households

3.4 Age of main applicants

The next graph tracks the age range of the main applicants for housing support between April 2018 and June 2021. The largest age group needing housing support are 25-34 year olds. There are also high numbers of presentations from people aged 18-24 years old, 35-44 years old and 45-55 years old.

3.5 Household composition of those seeking help

The next graph tracks the household composition of applicants for housing support between April 2018 and June 2021 for those people with a prevention duty owed to them.

The top three categories are: single males, single females, and single females with dependent children.

The next graph tracks the household composition of applicants for housing support between April 2018 and June 2021 for those people with a relief duty owed.

Again, the top three categories are: single males, single females, and single females with dependent children. We saw a significant spike in demand from single adult males during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic as people were asked to leave precarious accommodation arrangements prior to and during the first lockdown.

3.6 Nationality and ethnicity of main applicants

The graph below shows the nationality of the main applicants for households requiring housing support between April 2018 and June 2021, broken down by percentages.

As illustrated in the next graph, the vast majority (97%) are UK nationals.

The next graph shows the ethnicity of the main applicants for households requiring housing support between April 2018 and June 2021.

The majority of applicants identify as being White British. A small minority of applicants identify as either Black or Black British, Asian or Asian British, from another White ethnic group or have chosen not to state their ethnicity.

3.7 Sexual identification of main applicants

The next graph shows the sexual identification of the lead applicants for households requiring housing support between April 2020 and June 2021.

The majority of lead applicants identify as being heterosexual/ straight, however a significant proportion chose not to state their sexuality.