Time To Overhaul The Way We Understand Homelessness?

The latest rough sleeping data has been released by CLG and it shows that yet again the number of people forced to sleep on the streets has gone up. The count, based on a snapshot of one night in August, is supposed to represent an estimate of the number of people sleeping rough on any one night throughout the year. What are the CLG figures telling us? Well, on any given night in 2016 there were an estimated 4,134 people sleeping rough compared with 3,569 in 2015 – an annual increase of 16 per cent, 51 per cent more than two years ago and an eye-watering 139 per cent higher than in 2010. Read more on the CLG website.

NHF Propose Pay To Stay Data Solution

The National Housing Federation has set out how they feel associations can best collect data for Pay to Stay.  Although for housing associations the policy is voluntary to implement, 24housing understands some housing associations are looking to compensate for some of income they are losing from the rent reduction. The Federation hopes the data solution will be able to give members enough evidence to decide whether they would like to implement the policy or not. Read more on the NHF website.

Good Data Won’t End Homelessness But It’s A Key Part Of The Solution

A long-awaited report by the body responsible for safeguarding the quality of official statistics has concluded that the way in which homelessness data is currently collected and reported by Government requires significant improvement. And this amidst growing concern that official statistics misrepresent the true scale of the homelessness problem in England. The report, released by the UK Statistics Authority, found that statutory homelessness data need a range of improvements to retain its status as ‘National Statistics’. The CLG’s prevention and relief and rough sleeping statistics were also looked at as part of the assessment and were found lacking. Above all, the UKSA says that the Government needs to be more transparent about what the three datasets collectively tell us about the state of homelessness in England. Read more on the Crisis blog.

MPs Question Right To Buy Data

Senior MPs have challenged the housing ministers over the data supporting the contentious Right to Buy policy. During an exchange at the Commons communities and local government committee, housing minister Brandon Lewis was forced to defend his use of data that he claimed showed the housing sector was meeting demands to replace public sector homes being sold to occupiers. The minister claimed during questioning that local authorities and housing associations had been meeting their obligation to build a house for every property sold under Right to Buy, a policy known as One for One. Lewis said: “At the moment the figures show they are on target. In London, they are ahead of that – they are at two for one. So that’s working.” Read more on 24dash.

Tenant Anger over Plan to Share Personal Details

Plans to share a host of data on benefit claimants, including health records and IT literacy, with landlords and charities have been condemned by a national tenant organisation. Michael Gelling, chair of TAROE, said the government’s proposals for Universal credit claimants went ‘too far’ and were ‘very, very dangerous’. The DWP is consulting until 12 January on measures to allow sharing of information about claimants between the department, councils, housing associations, Citizens Advice bureaux, credit unions and charities. This is to enable organisations to provide support to claimants to stop them falling into arrears or struggling with debt. Data to be shared includes details of debts, benefits, health conditions, qualifications, and level of digital skills. Read more on Inside Housing.

Social and Private Renters

The CLG has published a wide range of demographic and economic data about social and private renters. This includes tables about:

·         demographic and economic characteristics of renters

·         accommodation characteristics

·         rents and housing benefit

·         types of letting.

These data are an output from the most recent English Housing Survey. Download from the CLG website.