At the request of the Liberal Democrats, councils across England, Scotland and Wales have released statistics about youth homelessness. In 2017, almost 45,000 people between 18 and 24 approached their local authority because they were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. A number of councils did not release their statistics, however. The total number of young people turning to their councils for help with is therefore estimated at 70,000. Young people approaching their local council were not necessarily accepted as being in need of urgent support. Only 10,000 people were classified as statutory homelessness.
Homeless organisations expressed deep concerns about rising youth homelessness. Paul Noblet of Centrepoint said the most alarming thing about the figures was that they were likely to be a serious underestimate, as not all councils responded. He also pointed out many young people do not know they can turn to the local authority for help.
