Worrying surge in the number of homeless people in Wales with one city seeing a 50% increase

There have been worrying trends in homelessness across Wales in recent years. Now a new study has looked in more detail at those trends and the causes of and reasons for homelessness

Homelessness in Wales is growing, with Newport seeing the biggest rise. Over the past year, Newport’s homeless rate has increased by over 50%, reaching a record high of 1,359 households, the BBC has reported.

The data comes following the Welsh Government’s latest report on homelessness and housing assistance, which monitors how local authorities support those in need. This highlights worrying trends in homelessness across Wales, noting that the number of households assessed as homeless and owed a duty to help find accommodation (Section 73) has risen by 8% from the previous year to 13,539. This is the highest figure recorded since the legislation was introduced in 2015. At the same time, 26% of these people were successfully helped to secure accommodation, which is slightly lower than in recent years.

Cardiff showed the highest number of households assessed as threatened with homelessness within 56 days at 1,878 during 2023-24. But, when taking into account the number of households in each area, Newport reported the highest rate at 123.2 per 10,000 households. Outside of the major cities, rural areas in Wales are also struggling. In 2023-24, rural regions reported the highest rates of homeless households living in temporary accommodation per 10,000 households.

As of March 31, 2024, there were 6,447 households in temporary accommodation in Wales, an 18% increase compared to the previous year. This figure is also the highest ever reported since 2015. A significant proportion of these households (42%) were placed in bed and breakfasts, which is slightly higher than in 2022-23.

Temporary accommodation is meant to be a short-term solution, but the growing numbers suggest that it is becoming harder for households to transition into permanent housing. This can lead to instability for families and individuals, who might already be vulnerable.

Background context was also provided in the Welsh Government’s report, as between 2019 and 2023, during the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection on statutory homelessness was reduced, meaning that the full extent of the problem might have been underestimated during those years. With the reinstatement of full data collection in 2023-24, it is clear that homelessness has become an even bigger challenge.

Efforts to prevent homelessness have had some success. For example, 58% of households threatened with homelessness in Wales were able to avoid it in 2023/24 similar to rates in previous years. Also, the number of households threatened with homelessness fell by 5%. However, with rising demand and limited resources, local authorities are under increasing pressure to meet the needs of their communities.

The best way of avoiding people becoming homeless in 2023/24 was specialist support, such as preventing domestic abuse.

“The ‘Loss of rented or tied accommodation’ was given as the main reason for households being assessed as threatened with homelessness within 56 days, accounting for 38% of all cases. In just over a fifth (21%) of cases, the main reason was, ‘parent, or other relative or friends were no longer willing to accommodate. The ‘Breakdown of a relationship with a partner’ was the main reason given in a further 11% of cases, with ‘Rent or mortgage arrears’ the main reason in around 10% of cases,” said the report.

For those who actually ended up homeless, the main reason given (in 27% of cases) was: ‘Parent, or other relative or friends were no longer willing to accommodate’.

In August, 2024, the proposal was also made to cease the annual national rough sleeper count with immediate effect. According to the Welsh Government, “the evidence for the proposed change was that there are limitations to the annual rough sleeper count. It is inherently difficult to identify all people who sleep rough and to therefore include them in data collections when compared with people with more secure forms of accommodation.”

Credit: https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/