Homeless households

Services for the homeless

Local authorities have a duty to help homeless people who fit certain criteria, and those who may be about to become homeless. Anyone requiring information on services for the homeless should use the appropriate unitary authority, district council or voluntary organisation links in the related information panel.

Summary

Households assessed and owed a duty

The c2,323+ households assessed as homeless and owed a relief duty in Lancashire-12 was c1.5% of the England figure of 157,640, while there were c2,580+ households threatened with homelessness and owed a prevention duty in 2022/23, which was c1.8% of the England total (140,790). Burnley had the highest 'homeless and owed a relief duty' figure in the Lancashire-12 area, although in Lancaster the total of 309 for just three quarters hints that the figure for the whole year could exceed that of Burnley. Also Preston City Council failed to submit data for one quarter, but was ranked lower for the other three quarters.

Combining the number of households owed a relief or prevention duty gives a total of c4,903 households, 1.6% of the England total of 298,430.

Households accepted as homeless and in priority need 

In the Lancashire-12 area in 2022/23, around 384 households were accepted as being homeless and in priority need, which equates to just 0.73% of the England total of 52,800.

Households in temporary accommodation

For England as a whole, households in temporary accommodation increased substantially from 77,220 in the 2016/17 financial year to 99,888 in 2022/23, which is some 4,200 more than in the previous year. Those in Lancashire-12 have increased by 25.6% to 285 households compared to 2021/22, which is just 0.29% of the England figure.

Rough sleepers

For autumn 2023, estimates were provided by local authorities that together came to 76 rough sleepers in the Lancashire-12 area and 103 in the Lancashire-14 area. For England as a whole the figure was 3,898.

The full article on this topic including background information, tables and links to related websites can be downloaded from the box below.

Further analysis

Homeless households 2022/23 and rough sleepers 2023 - full article (PDF 260 KB)

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities have published a dashboard containing the tables on homelessness, and shows figures for selected local authorities. There is also a dashboard relating to rough sleeping  from the same department. We have put in  links to these on the lower Related Websites panel on the right.

Page updated March 2024