Council bosses have vowed to “do everything” in their power to address deaths among the city’s homeless, as new figures reveal Aberdeen has the second highest number in the country.
Figures released by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show the Granite City was second only to Glasgow.
Aberdeen recorded 15 estimated deaths in 2018, compared to four the previous year. North-east Conservative MSP Tom Mason branded the figures “absolutely shocking”.
Meanwhile, the Highlands reported a rise from eight estimated deaths in 2017 to 13 in 2018 and Aberdeenshire fell from seven to three.
No homeless deaths were recorded in Moray, and Western Isles Council had one death recorded for each of the two years.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen City Council housing spokeswoman Councillor Sandra Macdonald said the local authority “must do everything” in its power to tackle the issue but also stressed that the figures were “guesstimates”.
She said: “Any death resulting from homelessness is heart-breaking and we must do everything in our power to prevent such tragedies.
“The council provides considerable support for people who find themselves homeless including advice, case management, temporary accommodation and housing support to set up or maintain a tenancy.
Any death resulting from homelessness is heart-breaking and we must do everything in our power to prevent such tragedies.”
— Councillor Sandra Macdonald
“We also work closely with third sector partners to assist people who find themselves homeless.
“This includes being part of a forum aimed at drugs-related death prevention and being a consortium partner in a pathfinder programme entitled Housing First, which targets significant support for those affected by chronic and complex homelessness.
“It is important to remember that these figures are guesstimates and that the methodology behind them is experimental.
“Other recent statistics showed that Aberdeen experienced a drop in the number of homeless applications between April and September 2018 and the same period in 2019.”
Mike Burns, CEO of Aberdeen Cyrenians, a charity set up to support the city’s homeless, has called for action to reduce the number of deaths.
He said: “We’re working with a group of people who have suffered adversely for a long, long time.
“When we work with these people we see how vulnerable and fragile they are and how years and years of trauma have put them in that position and make them more susceptible to early deaths.”
The charity boss said he could not point at one stand-out reason for the rise in the figures, but said the roll-out of Universal Credit had “not helped” the situation.
The delay to Universal Credit payments is putting people in extreme poverty and into debt and homelessness.”
— Mike Burns, CEO of Aberdeen Cyrenians
He added: “We are just getting more vulnerable people who have reached a certain age and have found themselves at a point where they’re no longer able to sustain their vulnerability.
“The delay to Universal Credit payments is putting people in extreme poverty and into debt and homelessness.”
But Mr Burns welcomed the publication of the new figures and called for further action to be taken.
He said: “I want to congratulate the Scottish Government for being forward thinking and brave enough to set the figures out for the first year as experimental statistics.
“Hopefully, there’s a strategy group and we can all sit down and look at how we reduce the number of deaths”.
Evan Adamson, who now runs the food bank at Aberdeen charity Instant Neighbour, has personal experience of homelessness after he found himself sleeping rough under Union Terrace Bridge when he lost his family home and business.
He believes the “rising fear” of applying for Universal Credit could have impacted on the increase in the number of homeless people dying in the city.
There’s a huge swathe of people who fall through the cracks.”
— Evan Adamson, of the Instant Neighbour food bank
He said: “There’s a rising fear of applying for Universal Credit, especially if they’re homeless. There is fear and contempt for the benefits system.”
Mr Adamson said while there is help out there, it can be difficult to access.
He added: “It’s about knowing where to go and knowing who to ask. There’s a huge swathe of people who fall through the cracks.
“There is the help I think in Aberdeen but I think the nature that’s arisen out of the benefits system is that it’s much harder to find.”
Mark Thomson, Shelter Scotland Aberdeen community hub manager, said people living in “desperate situations” have been “ultimately failed by the system”.
He added: “Behind these figures lie individual personal tragedies. They will leave behind them bereaved relatives and friends who have our sympathies.
“In Thursday’s budget we’re looking to the Scottish Government to increase its investment in the services which prevent people’s lives spiralling into chaos and homelessness, and to commit to funding social house building.”
However, Scottish Conservative north-east MSP Tom Mason pointed the blame at the Scottish Government, saying the figures are a “damning reminder” that more needs to be done.
He said: “The figures are absolutely shocking and these people who have been in desperate situations have been failed by the Scottish Government’s system.
“The SNP has had full control of the housing brief for more than 13 years now, yet still we see homelessness figures spiralling – it’s unacceptable.
“Not only is this a major contribution to homelessness but in Aberdeen we have seen issues including the loss of employment lead to situations like these – something which has been completely ignored by the Scottish Government.”
Aberdeenshire
By contrast, Aberdeenshire Council saw the number of homeless deaths drop from seven in 2017 to three this year.
The local authority’s head of housing and building standards, Rob Simpson, said their priority is to provide temporary accommodation as “quickly as possible” to those in need.
He added: “All homeless people are also offered housing support to help them maintain their tenancies.
“While the number of deaths in accommodation is thankfully very low, it is sadly the case that some of those who present as homeless to us have multiple and complex needs that involve significant and potentially life-limiting health issues.”
Highland
Highland Council, which takes in Inverness, also reported an increase in the number of deaths from eight in 2017 to 13 in 2018.
A Highland Council spokesman said: “Highland Council is committed to tackling homelessness and a range of initiatives are detailed in our Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan.
“The number of deaths identified demonstrates the complex medical and social issues that some homeless clients experience.
“Highland is committed to working closely with partners such as the NHS to provide comprehensive support for vulnerable individuals.”
New figures from @NatRecordsScot show that an estimated 195 people died while homeless in Scotland in 2018. https://t.co/B27o3iJWyk pic.twitter.com/MuV3aL6BnJ
— Shelter Scotland (@shelterscotland) February 5, 2020
More than half of all deaths “drug-related”
According to the NRS data, a total of 195 people died while living in the streets or in temporary accommodation.
More than half (53%) of all all homeless deaths in 2018 were drug-related.
Limitations of the data
- The statistics in this report are classed as ‘experimental’ which means they have “not yet been assessed against the rigorous quality standards of National Statistics”.
- Currently there is not a question on a death certificate confirming whether the person was homeless so the statisticians at the NRS had to use less precise methods to come up with the figures.
- They used keyword searching of their records to look for certain terms such as “no fixed abode” or “no address known” and combined these with deaths located at addresses known to be homeless shelters or hostels.
- These records were then manually checked to ensure they should be included in the report.
Kevin Stewart, Housing Minister and Aberdeen Central MSP, said the reasons that lead to homelessness are often “very complex”.
But he added: “This report shows that of the number of people who died while experiencing homelessness, 53% were drug-related deaths.
“This reflects the wider public health emergency Scotland is facing over drug deaths.
“The next meeting of the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group will have a specific focus on public health and addiction issues and both myself and the public health minister will be attending.
“One person being made homeless is one too many and that is why the Scottish Government are working in partnership to transform services to ensure our system supports those at risk.”
This reflects the wider public health emergency Scotland is facing over drug deaths.”
— Kevin Stewart, housing minister
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions, said: “Universal Credit offers a range of specialised support to people struggling with homelessness and housing issues, including help with opening bank accounts, finding accommodation and budgeting.
“We recently announced a £3 million fund for jobcentre staff to go out on the streets to help people who are homeless to claim benefits.
“As part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy we have also committed to establishing a single point of contact for homelessness issues in every jobcentre.
“People can find out more about what is available by visiting www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk”
