A UK-Wide Overview of Homelessness including from Frontline Workers
Published 02/10/2019 by Claire Gilbert
Two substantial reports released in September 2019 provide an important UK-wide picture of the issues facing homeless households and advisors in this sector.
Two substantial reports released in September 2019 provide an important UK-wide picture of the issues facing homeless households and advisors in this sector.
The Frontline Network has released their 2018 Annual Frontline Worker Survey into homelessness (and the executive summary). The report is based on over 800 responses and brings out the experiences of workers from the public, statutory and voluntary sectors supporting people experiencing homelessness.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) UK Homelessness Report 2015-2018 (full report here) similarly aims to build a UK-wide picture of homelessness. One of the key things the report highlights is the difficulties in drawing comparisons between the devolved homelessness strategies; England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have their own legislation, and thus data collection system.
Despite this certain trends and similarities emerge across both reports, for example:
* An increase in the complexity of homelessness household needs in recent years, particularly in relation to physical and mental health conditions;
* Difficulty across all regions in accessing suitable accommodation, with the Frontline Worker report highlighting practical barriers such as having to provide ID, affordability within LHA rates, and having access to a deposit;
* A lack of social housing stock, with this issue reported to be more significant in England and Wales, and lack of access to private rented stock being especially problematic in Wales; and
* A significant overlap between homelessness and those leaving the criminal justice system, with ONS finding that 13% of homeless cases were people who had been released from prison.
The ONS report particularly examines the apparent link in Scotland between a general legal duty on local authorities to provide housing and an apparent decrease in rough sleeping (compared to an increase in street homelessness in the other jurisdictions which use the “priority need” test).
In addition to giving an overview of the current state of homelessness in the UK, the Frontline Worker report places a spotlight on the wellbeing of frontline workers. The survey results demonstrate a clear connection between access to support for frontline workers, job satisfaction and the ability of workers to assist their clients to the standard they would like to. The message here is clear; if you want to respond effectively to the homelessness crisis, you need to invest in wellbeing of the first responders.
Further information about Frontline Workers’ initiatives on wellbeing for those working in the homelessness sector, including networking events, is available here.
See also our article on recent homelessness figures.
