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Scottish Government
The annual Housing Lists return was introduced in March 2001. It records the total number of applications on waiting lists and transfer lists for a local authority dwelling on local authority housing registers and common housing registers, during the year to 31 March. It is important to note this is not the number of individuals (or households) applying for local authority housing, but the number of applications received by local authorities for social housing. Each application made is counted. Therefore if a household makes an application to five registers, this will be recorded as five in the statistics. This means that some applicants will be on more than one authority's list, and the Scotland total, therefore the totals include an unquantifiable amount of double counting.
Figures are sourced from management information systems therefore there no sampling error or confidence interval that would affect the accuracy of the results, although there may be a small amount of error associated with non-response and subsequent estimation.
Total number of applications on waiting lists and transfer lists for a local authority dwelling
The return collects information on changes in local authority and common housing register housing lists as at 31 March each year. Applicants who apply through homelessness legislation should not be included on this form (unless they have also applied for housing through other routes. The Waiting list figure includes all new applicants who apply for housing through the standard route. It should not include applicants who currently hold a tenancy with the relevant council. The Transfer list should include only applicants who currently hold a tenancy with the relevant council. The Total is the sum of the Waiting list and Transfer list figures.
Information on council stock is collected at an aggregate level. Sensitive or confidential information relating to individual houses or people is not collected.
Data on stock by type has been collected in a consistent manner since 2001. The time series is affected by 6 local authorities that transferred all of their stock to housing associations between 2003 and 2007. This means that figures for Glasgow and Scottish Borders are excluded from 2003 onwards, Dumfries & Galloway from 2004, Eilean Siar and Argyll & Bute from 2007 and Inverclyde from 2008. The Scottish Housing Regulator collect figures on number of applications on waiting lists for social housing, for all social landlords, including RSLs and the 26 local authorities that own housing stock. Although the timing and data sources used by SHR and SG Housing statistics are similar, there may be some differences in definitions which may cause figures to be slightly different in some cases. The [Scottish Household Survey (SHS) website](https://www.gov.scot/collections/scottish-household-survey/) also presents information on applications for social housing, based entirely on survey responses. There are some key differences between the SHS and the Housing Statistics Annual Returns, that can cause the totals to differ. The Housing Statistics Annual returns figures are sourced from local authority management information systems, therefore those figures will exclude applicants for social housing in the 6 stock transfer authorities including Glasgow (social housing in stock transfer areas is owned by RSLs). However the figures will include some double or multiple counting, as applicants are free to apply to as many social landlords as they wish. Alternative figures from the Scottish Household Survey are available on the [SHS website](http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/16002), are nationally representative and do not include any double counting.
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Data collected on numbers of applications on local authority housing lists is sourced directly from the 32 Local Authorities in Scotland. There is no sampling involved in this data collection and complete coverage of Scotland is usually achieved across most data items. In the event of non-response from a Local Authority, an estimate can be made either based on previous returns or on alternative information sources. Information provided by Local Authorities is extracted from Management Information Systems. We expect this information to be of good quality as it is used in the day to day housing management as well as for reporting purposes. We also expect the systems to have some built quality assurance. Scottish Government statisticians carry out quality assurance of data provided from each Local Authority prior to publication. In particular figures are compared to those provided in previous years. Where there appears to be a discrepancy this is queried with the local authority and, if necessary, changes are made either to the latest year's data or to that for earlier years in order to ensure consistency. When analysing the figures on numbers of applications on local authority waiting lists for housing, it is useful to be aware of some known data issues: -Total figures for Scotland may not equal the sum of the waiting list and transfer list columns as some local authorities are unable to break down totals. -Where councils participate in a common housing register, lists are not separated between local authority and Registered Social Landlords (RSLs). -Some applicants will be on more than one council waiting list, and the Scotland total therefore includes an unquantifiable amount of double counting. While numbers of applications are recorded accurately within each authority, there is difficulty in recording actual numbers of people wishing to access all social housing and also in determining their current tenure. -In addition to the inevitable double-counting of people who apply to more than one local authority, households often apply for both council and RSL housing in their desired area. They may no longer need a social house as they take up tenancies with other housing providers or for other reasons but may not be removed from the housing list immediately. -Some local authorities operate a combined waiting and transfer list, and so cannot provide a breakdown. While the number of applications registered on the Housing Register as at 31 March is deemed to be robust, the split into those on a transfer list and those on a waiting list are less reliable as some councils are unable to split their housing register into waiting and transfer lists. For these councils, the waiting list figure represents all applications, and the transfer list is reported as a missing value. For Orkney, this is the case for the whole time series, therefore this area does not appear on the list if looking at transfer list figures only. Following housing stock transfers, figures for Glasgow are excluded from 2003, Dumfries & Galloway, and Scottish Borders from 2004, Eilean Siar and Argyll & Bute from 2007, and Inverclyde from 2008. These figures are 'not applicable' as these local authorities do not provide Housing List figures to the Scottish Government. Some local authorities are unable to provide a split between those on Waiting Lists and those on Transfer Lists. In these cases, the data is 'not available' as local authorities are able to provide a total for the overall Housing List figures but not the split. Clarification about which missing observations are 'not applicable' or 'not available' is available from the [Housing Lists snapshot tables](https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/HousingLists).
Tables are published on the [Scottish Government Housing Statistics](http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration) website as soon as possible once data collection, data processing and preparation of tables and publication material is complete, generally in September each year. The open data platform will be updated as soon as possible after publication.
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The figures on applications on housing registers include the housing registers for local authorities and the common housing registers that they participate in. Some Registered Social Landlords operate their own waiting lists and will not be included in the statistics.
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