Nottingham has highest rate of homelessness in the East Midlands, according to new Shelter data

Posted on | by Marketing and Fundraising Team

National homelessness charity Shelter has released a research report that provides Nottingham homelessness data and statistics on the number of people recorded as homeless in England.

Nottingham homelessness data: Shelter estimates that on a given night in 2022 there will have been over 1614 people recorded as homeless in Nottingham, which is a rate of 1 in 201 people.

This is the highest rate of homelessness in the East Midlands.

Denis Tully, CEO at Emmanuel House, said: “The report released by Shelter showing that Nottingham has the highest rate of homelessness in the East Midlands should remind us that we cannot allow homelessness to be normalised.  There must be continual and sustained opposition to this scourge.”

As the report states, the figures refer to people who,  in some way or another, are visibly homeless. There will be others who are homeless but are hidden, making Shelter’s figures an underestimate.

Click here to read Shelter’s report
Homelessness in Nottingham

Nottingham homelessness data 2022

Shelter’s data reports on the estimated numbers of people who are homeless at a given night in 2022. These figures include rough sleepers and those in council temporary accommodation, ‘homeless at home’ and living in temporary accommodation arranged by themselves. Please see below for full definitions, as provided by Shelter.

  • Est. no. of people homeless and living in temporary accommodation (TA) arranged by the council: 1591

Shelter defines ‘homeless at home’ as people who are legally homeless because it is not reasonable for them to continue to occupy their home but they have not yet been accommodated by the local authority.

  • No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night: 23

Shelter’s numbers of people who are ‘street homeless’ are taken from the government’s annual count of rough sleepers. These are widely considered to be an underestimate of the true scale of street homelessness. Put simply, these are the people that they have found sleeping on the streets and the data doesn’t count people in concealed locations or those who are walking the streets to feel safer. We expect there to be many more.

  • Est. total no. of homeless children: 898
  • Est. total no. homeless people: 1614
  • Rate of homelessness (1 in X people): 201

This is Shelter’s rate of people who are homeless in the respected area, calculated by comparing the estimated number of people who are homeless to the total population of the area, using the latest available ONS population statistics.

  • National ranking: 45

Please note, people who are living in hostels or supported accommodation, or people who are living in temporary accommodation that has been arranged by Social Services are not included in these regional statistics.

Susan is currently living on her friend’s sofa while she waits for her new job to start. Emmanuel House has been supporting Susan for a number of years. She spoke to BBC Radio Nottingham and East Midlands Today about her experience of living in temporary accommodation.

BBC East Midlands Today’s interview with Emmanuel House beneficiary Susan – from 8:40

BBC Radio Nottingham’s interview with Susan – from 2:07

Beneficiary Susan is interviewed by the BBC at her friend’s house, where she is currently staying

National homelessness statistics

Shelter estimates that on a given night in 2022 there will have been over 271,000 people recorded as homeless in England, which is a rate of 1 in 208 people.

This is mainly made up of people who are homeless and living in temporary accommodation (almost 250,000).

  • Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by the council: 245,590
  • Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by them or ‘homeless at home’: 4504
  • No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night: 2440
  • Est. no single homeless people living in hostels: 15,329
  • No. people living in accommodation provided by social services: 3558
  • Est. total no. of homeless children: 122,761
  • Est. total no. homeless people: 271,421
  • Rate of homelessness (1 in X people): 208

East Midlands homelessness figures

These figures include rough sleepers and those in council temporary accommodation, ‘homeless at home’ and living in temporary accommodation arranged by themselves.

  • Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by the council: 5570
  • Est. no. of people homeless and living in TA arranged by them or homeless at home: 183
  • No. of people sleeping on the streets on a given night: 180
  • Est. total no. of homeless children: 2600
  • Est. total no. homeless people: 5933
  • Rate of homelessness (1 in X people): 822

Homelessness definitions as provided by Shelter

Definitions of people recorded in national figures:

  • People who have been accepted as homeless and now live in temporary accommodation arranged by their local council
  • People who have been accepted as homeless and now live in temporary accommodation arranged by themselves or are living ‘homeless at home’ – meaning that they are legally homeless because it is not reasonable for them to continue to live in their home, but they are yet to be moved into temporary accommodation
  • People who are sleeping on the streets
  • Single people who are homeless and living in hostel or supported accommodation, but who are not counted amongst those in the statutory homelessness figures above
  • People who are owed a duty under the Children’s Act and are living in temporary accommodation that has been arranged by Social Services

People who are living in ‘hidden homelessness’ are not included in these figures, so they might be people who are sofa surfing or living in overcrowded houses.

Definitions of people recorded in regional figures:

  • People who have been accepted as homeless and now live in temporary accommodation arranged by their local council
  • People who have been accepted as homeless and now live in temporary accommodation arranged by themselves or are living ‘homeless at home’ – meaning that they are legally homeless because it is not reasonable for them to continue to live in their home, but they are yet to be moved into temporary accommodation
  • People who are sleeping on the streets

Emmanuel House, with its Winter Shelter, outreach teams and drop-in support centre, exists to support Nottingham’s most vulnerable people. Our team works with every individual to meet their basic needs and to access services that best suit their ongoing needs. Our main aim is to prevent people from becoming homeless and to support those who are homeless into accommodation.