Homelessness

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There are a number of reasons why people become at risk of losing their home but actual, or fear of homelessness can itself create stress which in turn affects people’s health and wellbeing, both physically and mentally. For example, homeless people are much more likely than the general population to experience depression, substance misuse and emergency hospital admissions (Homeless Link, 2014).

The 2002 Homelessness Act placed a duty on local authorities to develop a Homelessness Strategy and to renew it every five years. All tiers of government within Somerset have a commitment to tackling and preventing homelessness either directly or by working in partnership with those bodies responsible for providing the services. The Somerset local housing authorities have a long and successful history of working with colleagues from the health and social care sectors in responding to the underlying reasons for homelessness.

The latest Somerset Homelessness Review and Strategy 2017 identifies four priorities for tackling homelessness across the county:

1. Support the transition in services required by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 to reduce and prevent homelessness.
2. Support clients to remain in their existing accommodation where appropriate.
3. Support clients to access suitable and affordable accommodation where appropriate.
4. Build and maintain strong working relationships across partnerships.

Facts and Figures

Applications and Acceptances

Under the Homelessness Act 2002, local authorities have a legal requirement to find accommodation for people accepted as homeless and meeting priority need criteria. Details of these criteria and an outline of the council’s obligations are provided here.

Local authorities in Somerset received 655 homelessness applications during 2017/18. This was a decline of 13% on the 2016/17 figure.

A total of 397 households were accepted as statutorily homeless during 2017/18 (representing 61% of all homelessness applications). This was 6% fewer homelessness acceptances than during 2016/17.

Figure 1: Numbers of households accepted as homeless and in priority need (source: MHCLG)

As a proportion of all households, Somerset's number of acceptances was 1.65 per thousand households in 2017/18, below the national average rate of 2.51 (or 2.08 per 1,000 outside London).  

At a district level, South Somerset and Taunton Deane saw the highest rates of acceptances (2.10 and 2.64 per 1,000 households respectively) and Mendip the lowest (0.35 per 1,000) households.

Figure 3: Trends in Homelessness Acceptances (per 1,000 households) by Area

Source: MHCLG

Homelessness prevention and relief

A total of 1,206 Somerset households were prevented from becoming homeless during 2017/18 through positive action by local authorities (that is, action outside the homelessness statutory framework). This compared to 1,465 households during 2016/17.

An additional 69 cases of homelessness ‘relief’ were recorded in 2017/18 (where an authority was unable to prevent homelessness but helped secure alternative accommodation). This was an decrease on the 198 cases during 2016/17.

Applicants placed in temporary accommodation

The number of applicants placed in temporary accommodation (measured at 31 March) has fallen considerably in recent years. In Somerset the number has decreased steadily year by year from 499 in 2004/5 to approximately 100 in 2017/18. 

Somerset's encouraging figures can be attributed largely to the success of partnership initiatives such as landlord deposit schemes, engagement through the South West Private Sector Housing Partnership (SWPHSP) and Pathway to Independence (P2I).

Rough Sleeping

Local authorities in Somerset estimated the number of rough sleepers in 2017 to be 57 (as of autumn that year). This compared 48 in 2016 and 56 in 2015. The highest numbers of rough sleepers were in Mendip and Taunton Deane.

Of the estimated 57 rough sleepers in 2017; two were female, two were aged under-25, and one was a non-UK national from the EU.

Figure 5 Rough Sleeper counts in Somerset Districts, 2011-2017 (source: District Councils/MHCLG)

Homelessness and Young People

Many people who leave home at a young age in a crisis or an unplanned way can become homeless. In 2013, Pathway to Independence (P2i) was launched to prevent youth homelessness, with the main aim to enable young people to progress from support and supervision to independent living. For more details, please click here.

Homelessness and Misuse of Alcohol and Drugs

Homelessness is often associated with drug and alcohol abuse. A national 'health audit' of over 2,500 homeless people commissioned by the charity Homeless Link found that more than 1 in 3 had taken drugs in the past month and more than 1 in 4 had, or were recovering from, an alcohol problem. For the 2012/13 period In Somerset:-

• 38 out of 326 adults (12%) entered structured treatment for drug misuse and 11 out of 345 (3%) entered treatment for alcohol misuse and reported that they were of No Fixed Abode or had another urgent housing problem (sleeping on the streets, in a night hostel or on a different friend's floor each night).
• 3 out of 76 young people aged 17 or under (4%) entered structured treatment for substance misuse and reported having No Fixed Abode or another urgent housing problem at the time of entry.
• 24 out of 119 young people (20%) assessed by the Somerset Targeted Youth Support Service (TYS) reported having a housing problem when first assessed.

(Data supplied by the Somerset Drug and Alcohol Partnership)

Access to housing and accommodation is a foundation for successful recovery from drugs or alcohol use. The Somerset Drug and Alcohol Service (SDAS) Housing service provides a bridge for service users and their supporters to access accommodation and advice at whatever stage of recovery. They are also able to signpost and support service users into the wider SDAS contact and recovery services.

They offer:-

• Supported abstinence based accommodation in Frome, Wells and Yeovil
• Supported accommodation for people who are engaging with SDAS treatment services and on substitute prescribing in Yeovil
• Mediation/ crisis intervention where accommodation security is being threatened by issues related to drug or alcohol use.
• Advice and sign posting to housing professionals to access drug and alcohol treatment services for their service users
• Housing related advice sessions in the SDAS hubs in the community

The SDAS housing service is provided by Developing Health and Independence and can be contacted either via the Single Point of Contact: 01373 471406 or via the support workers on 07825 088 927 / 07825 089 312.

Further Information  

More data on homelessness for Somerset and all other local authorities are available on the Gov.uk website.