The Scottish Government has published the latest homelessness statistics, covering April to September 2021. The data shows:
- There were 14,447 homelessness applications across the country. While this is 2% higher than the same period in 2020, it remains lower than before the pandemic
- There remained 26,001 open homelessness cases at the end of September 2021. While this is 7% lower than the same time in 2020, partly due to a higher proportion of households securing settled accommodation, particularly from housing associations, the numbers are higher than pre-pandemic levels
- There were 13,192 households containing 7,510 children in temporary accommodation at the end of September 2021. While this is 7% lower than the same time in 2020, this is still considerably higher than pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, the numbers of households in temporary accommodation rose during the July to September 2021 quarter, the first-time numbers have increased since reaching a peak in September 2020.