FOI request (FOIR-420144895)

Number of LGBT individuals making a homeless application between 2018-2022

Requested Thu 05 May 2022
Responded  Thu 19 May 2022

I write to request information on the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals who made a homeless application as legally homeless and/or being threatened with homelessness between January 2018 and April 2022.

As part of this request, I would like the information to be broken down into the following:

1. The number of individuals making a homeless application while 'legally homeless' since 2018, broken down into sexual orientation (including transgender), per month, per year and grand total.

2. The number of individuals making a homeless application 'threatened with homelessness' since 2018, broken down into sexual orientation (including transgender), per month, per year and grand total.

3. The number of individuals supported into accommodation (temporary/emergency) since 2018, broken down into sexual orientation (including transgender), per month, per year and grand total.

4. The number of individuals owed a prevention and/or relief duty since 2018, broken down into sexual orientation (including transgender), per month, per year and grand total.

5. The number of individuals to date, still waiting to be supported into accommodation, broken down by sexual orientation (including transgender).

Individuals are defined as anyone between the ages of 16-80 years-old.

Response

Please see attached spreadsheet.

Please note that 16 and 17 year olds are dealt with by East Sussex County Council Children's Services (https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk).

Given the degree of trust that needs to be established with the young person, sexuality is not enquired about by Children's Services until the assessment stage.

Due to change of IT system for introduction of the Homeless Reduction Act in April 2018, the council is unable to provide information for January to March 2018 cases.

NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information requested would require us to manually check each customer records, this would far exceed the time limit set out by the Information Commissioner therefore under S12 of the Freedom of information Act 2000 provides an exemption from the obligation to comply with a request for information if the estimated costs of complying with that request would exceed the prescribed appropriate limit.

We estimate that the costs of complying with your request would exceed the appropriate limit by a significant amount.

For this reason we feel unable to comply with this request.

3. Temporary accommodation:

From January 2018 Temporary Accommodation information was held on spreadsheets, but do not hold information on sexual orientation.

During 2018 quarter 3 (Oct to Dec), we started transferring data on 'current' temporary accommodation placements from the temporary accommodation spreadsheets onto our IT system, therefore information for 2018 Q2 and Q3 is not complete.

Attachments

• FOIR-420144895_FOIR-420144895_1-FOIR-420144895_-_Information.xlsx