Question reference: S6W-26320
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 26 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 17 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how its Homelessness in Scotland statistics accurately capture the number of people in Scotland who have been "looked after" prior to becoming homeless.
Answer
The Scottish Government Homelessness in Scotland statistics are based on data collected from all local authorities, on households that have made a homelessness application to a local authority.
This data collection includes information on whether any adult member, aged under 25, of a household making a homelessness application to a local authority was looked after as a child by their local authority.
The data provided on looked after status will largely be self-reported by applicant households. Applicants can choose whether to answer the question, or they may not know if any other adults aged under 25 in the household have previously been looked after.