Survey on Support Centres for Homeless Persons

• 1. Contact

  • 1.1. Contact organisation

    • National Statistics Institute of Spain

  • 1.5. Contact mail address

    • Avenida de Manoteras 50-52 - 28050 Madrid

• 2. Metadata update

  • 2.1. Metadata last certified

    • 19/09/2025

  • 2.2. Metadata last posted

    • 29/09/2021

  • 2.3. Metadata last update

    • 19/09/2025

• 3. Statistical presentation

  • 3.1. Data description

    • The main objective of the research is the study of the different characteristics of the centres for the care of the homeless, both of a general nature, such as the services offered, the population served and their orientation, as well as other characteristics related to economic and operational aspects, such as sources of funding, human and financial resources and periods of habitual activity, as well as capacity and occupation.

      All the centres in the directory carried out by the INE in collaboration with the Ministry for Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda through the corresponding councils of all the Autonomous Communities are comprehensively researched with reference to 30 June 2024. The Basque Institute of Statistics (EUSTAT) collaborates in the implementation of the Survey in the territorial scope of the Autonomous Community of País Vasco.

       

      SERVICES PROVIDED The different services (accommodation, catering, training and assistance) that the centres can offer to the homeless are studied.

      POPULATION ATTENDED It is studied if there is a priority orientation of the centres towards any specific situation that affects the homeless person as well as if there is specialisation in attention according to sex. In particular, the proportion of foreign population served is investigated. The means access to the centre are also analysed.

       

      FUNDING SOURCES, HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES It studies the structure of its sources of funding, the annual expenditure of the centre and its human resources, both from the point of view of the contractual relationship and from the functional point of view.

      CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CENTRES For all centres, the availability of the security service is considered, as well as the ownership of the service provider. For centres that offer accommodation, catering and/or daytime activities, consideration is given to their opening period, timetable, capacity and occupation, as well as the specific characteristics of the service provided. For those centres that carry out street intervention activities, it is analysed the period of activity, the interventions carried out and the number and characteristics of the vehicles at their disposal.

       

  • 3.2. Classification system
    • • Clasificaciones utilizadas

        • List of Autonomous Communities and Cities

  • 3.3. Sector coverage

    • All the centres in the directory carried out by the INE in collaboration with the Ministry for Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda through the corresponding councils of all the Autonomous Communities are comprehensively researched with reference to 30 June 2024. The Basque Institute of Statistics (EUSTAT) collaborates in the implementation of the Survey in the territorial scope of the Autonomous Community of País Vasco

  • 3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
    • • Benefits provided by centres that assist homeless persons

        • Benefits provided by centres that assist homeless persons comprise the support that these centres offer to users. This may be instrumental (accommodation, maintenance, clothing, hygiene, etc.), technical (information, guidance, social accompaniment) and other (health, legal, etc.).

      • Capacity of the centre

        • The capacity of the centre is the number of bedplaces available on the reference dates.

      • Centre expenditure of homeless care

        • It includes that necessary for normal functioning and management of the same. Therefore, expenditure on personnel and that associated with supplies and centre maintenance is included.

      • Centre that assists homeless persons

        • Enclosed space where the social intervention of homeless persons is carried out. It can provide accommodation, catering and/or other types of services.

      • Group dwelling

        • Dwelling designed to be inhabited by a group of persons subjected to a common authority or scheme that is not based on family ties or specific coexistence schemes. The group dwelling may only partially occupy a building, or more frequently, the entirety of the building.

      • Homeless Person

        • A homeless person is regarded as someone who does not have access during the reference period to accommodation which meets commonly agreed criteria for human habitation which he or she can occupy, whether this accommodation is legally their own property or whether the property is occupied rent-free under licence or some contractual or other arrangement of a non-temporary nature (including provision by public sector or non-governmental organisations; provision by employers).

      • Ownership of a centre

        • It is the legal responsibility of the entity that owns the centre. A distinction is made between public and private centres: Public: Central Administration, Autonomous Administration, Local Administration Private: Non-profit associations, Federation of non-profit associations, Private foundation, Charitable establishments, Other non-profit institutions, Natural person, Public Limited Liability Company, Private Limited Liability Company, Labor Public Limited Liability Company, Community of goods, Cooperatives, Others for profit.

      • Place of accommodation

        • Place where a person or group of persons resides, lodges or camps. A distinction is made between group accommodations, individual accommodations and make-shift accommodations.

      • Sex

        • Sex refers to the biological sex of the person. According to the WHO, "sex" refers to biological and physiological features defining to men and women, whereas "gender" refers to the roles, behaviour, activities and attributes constructed socially that a specific culture regards as appropriate for men and women. In accordance with this description, the WHO regards "man" and "woman" as sex categories, whereas "male" and "female" are gender categories.

      • Type of stay in a collective accommodation centre

        • The type of stay in a collective accommodation centre is the stay authorised in the centre, according to its duration, distinguishing between emergency centres (between one and five days' stay), short-stay centres (between six days and one month) and long-stay centres (longer than one month).

  • 3.5. Statistical unit

    • Centres and services to support for homeless persons

  • 3.6. Statistical population

    • All centres and services for the care of the homeless in accordance with the directory updated as at 30 June of the reference year of the survey

  • 3.7. Reference area

    • National scope

  • 3.8. Time coverage

    • The required data will have as reference period the year 2024.

  • 3.9. Base period

    • Not applicable.

      The first year in which the survey is carried out is 2003.

• 4. Unit of measure

  • 4.1. Unit of measure

    • Number of centres, number of persons, euros, %.

• 5. Reference period

  • 5.1. Reference period

    • Data refer to the year 2024.

      For the number of available and occupied places the reference days are:

      - Summer period: 14 June 2024.

      - Winter period: 16 December 2024.

      For the personnel working in the centre, the reference date is 16 December 2024.

      Data referring to the period: SSCHP-2024

• 6. Institutional mandate

  • 6.1. Legal acts and other agreements

    • The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2025-2028, approved by Royal Decree 1225/2024, of  3 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2025-2028. (Statistics of the State Administration).

      The Survey on Centres and Services to Support for Homeless Persons (SSCHP) 2024 has been carried out by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The Basque Institute of Statistics (EUSTAT) has collaborated in the conduction of the Survey in the territorial scope of the Autonomous Community of País Vasco by virtue of the collaboration agreement established for the elaboration of this survey.

  • 6.2. Data sharing

    • The exchanges of information needed to elaborate statistics between the INE and the rest of the State statistical offices (Ministerial Departments, independent bodies and administrative bodies depending on the State General Administration), or between these offices and the Autonomic statistical offices, are regulated in the LFEP (Law of the Public Statistic Function). This law also regulates the mechanisms of statistical coordination, and concludes cooperation agreements between the different offices when necessary.

      .

• 7. Confidentiality

  • 7.1. Confidentiality - policy

    • The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society

  • 7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

    • INE provides information on the protection of confidentiality at all stages of the statistical process: INE questionnaires for the operations in the national statistical plan include a legal clause protecting data under statistical confidentiality. Notices prior to data collection announcing a statistical operation notify respondents that data are subject to statistical confidentiality at all stages. For data processing, INE employees have available the INE data protection handbook, which specifies the steps that should be taken at each stage of processing to ensure reporting units' individual data are protected. The microdata files provided to users are anonymised.

      In this survey the microdata file is not disseminated due to statistical confidentiality.

• 8. Release policy

  • 8.1. Release calendar

    • The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.

  • 8.2. Release calendar access

    • The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)

  • 8.3. User access

    • The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice

• 9. Frequency of dissemination

  • 9.1. Frequency of dissemination

    • This survey is carried out on a biennial basis, so the data are disseminated every two years.

• 10. Accessibility and clarity

  • 10.1. News release

    • The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web

  • 10.2. Publications

    • https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176925&menu=resultados&idp=1254735976608

  • 10.3. On-line database

    • INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.

      You can consult all the information of the survey in the section INEbase/Standard of living and living conditions (CPI)/Living conditions/Survey on Centres and Services to Support for Homeless Persons; or accessing directly through the following link:

      https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176925&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735976608

      Access data for this survey since the last publication in September 2023 are:

      - Number of queries to data tables AC1= 1,776,175.

      - Number of queries to metadata AC2= 1,231.

  • 10.4. Micro-data access
    • A lot of statistical operations disseminate public domain anonymized files, available free of charge for downloading in the INE website Microdata Section

      Due to statistical confidentiality, the microdata of this Survey are not disseminated on the web.

  • 10.5. Other

    • There is the possibility of requesting customised information from the INE User Service Area.

  • 10.6. Documentation on methodology

    • Information on methodology can be found at:

      https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176925&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

      Metadata completeness rate is AC3= 100%

  • 10.7. Quality documentation

    • Fields 10.6 to 17.2 of this document are the user-oriented quality report for this operation.

      Information on quality can be found at: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176925&menu=metodologia&idp=1254735976608

       

• 11. Quality management

  • 11.1. Quality assurance

    • Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.

      A series of measures have been implemented that contribute to guaranteeing the quality of the process and the results. These include the following:

      - Both the questionnaire and the definitions are agreed in a working group with the participation of experts.

      - Data collection through a CAWI application with implementation of errors and warnings of incompatibility or inconsistency between the responses of the survey in order to perform a first cleaning.

      - Cleaning and imputation after the collection of information.

  • 11.2. Quality assessment

    • According to the measures implemented in the process of collection and cleaning of results described in the previous section, the strengths of the survey are:

      - Data collection through the CAWI questionnaire, which allows to add certain controls in the application to improve the quality of the information.

      - It is a comprehensive collection, thus eliminating sampling errors. The non-response rate is 18.2%.

       

       

       

• 12. Relevance

  • 12.1. User needs

    • Among the users of the survey, are:

      - Ministry for Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda

      - Territorial administrations (AACC)

      - Researchers and universities

      - Press and specialised media

       

  • 12.2. User satisfaction

    • The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013,  2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...

      On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click  next link)

       

  • 12.3. Completeness

    • We provide 100% of the indicators required in the national Statistical plan, which are: services provided, population served, sources of funding, human and financial resources, characteristics of the centres, ownership, size of the municipality of location, collective accommodation centres, centres that provide catering, centres that provide occupational or educational services, street intervention services.

• 13. Accuracy and reliability

  • 13.1. Overall accuracy

    • Two of the main sources of error in a survey are sampling errors and non-response. In the case of this survey, the sampling error does not exist and the response rate was 79.9%.

      This implies that the sources of error are: on the one hand a non-response of 20.1%, and on the other hand the quality of the data provided by the respondents. This quality is checked by the usual means (cleaning, controls in the recording application, etc.).

  • 13.2. Sampling error

    • The survey is addressed to all the centres included in the directories provided by the Ministry for Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda through the corresponding councils of the Autonomous Communities. As it is a comprehensive operation, there are no sampling errors.

  • 13.3. Non-sampling error

    • The main indicators are as follows:

      - The over-coverage rate is A2= 10.8%.

      - The non-response rate per unit is A4= 20.4%.

      - The non-response rate per item is A5= 0.1% for the expenditure of the centres variable.

      - The imputation rate is A7 = 0%.

      Note that there is no calibration in this statistical operation.

      In order to improve the quality of the information, a CAWI application has been implemented that makes a first and superficial control of the consistency. Subsequently, the information is subjected to a cleaning and imputation process.

• 14. Timeliness and punctuality

  • 14.1. Timeliness

    • The survey is published nine months after the reference date, and four months after the end of collection. Therefore the chance of final results is TP2= 4 months.

  • 14.2. Punctuality

    • The survey is published in September, complying with the INE publications calendar.

• 15. Coherence and Comparability

  • 15.1. Comparability - geographical

    • The processing of this statistic in all its phases is the same for the entire country. In this way, the results are perfectly comparable for any geographical disaggregation.

      There is no mandatory European survey and therefore no international comparability is possible.

  • 15.2. Comparability - over time

    • The Survey on Centres and Services to Support for Homeless Persons was carried out for the first time in 2003. The next year studied and published was 2006. From this moment on, the periodicity has been biennial. All these studies form a series of eleven years, the length of the comparable time series is CC2= 11.

  • 15.3. Coherence - cross domain

    • It is unknown the existence of sources of information other than the survey on this subject with which information can be crossed.

  • 15.4. Coherence - internal

    • The consistency between the variables is contrasted in the different phases of the statistical process

• 16. Cost and burden

  • 16.1. Cost and burden

    • The estimated of the budgetary credit needed to finance this statistic foreseen in the 2024 and 2025 annual programmes (PA 2025 = 58.15 thousand of euros and PA 2024 = 20.93 thousand of euros).

• 17. Data revision

  • 17.1. Data revision - policy

    • The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).

      This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow:  routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.

      There is no revision of data.

  • 17.2. Data revision - practice

    • The data are published when they are final and are not subject to revision.

• 18. Statistical processing

  • 18.1. Source data

    • All the centres of the directory carried out by the INE in collaboration with the Ministry for Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda through the corresponding councils of all the Autonomous Communities have been comprehensively researched. The Basque Institute of Statistics (EUSTAT) has collaborated in the carrying out of the Survey in the territorial scope of the Autonomous Community of País Vasco.

      The data are obtained from a single questionnaire with four possible secondary flows, depending on whether the centre provides accommodation, catering, occupational or educational activities and/or street intervention activities.

  • 18.2. Frequency of data collection

    • The survey is carried out in odd-numbered years, with reference to the previous even-numbered year. The collection period, therefore, is biennial.

  • 18.3. Data collection

    • The collection of information is carried out through a web questionnaire (CAWI) in a centralised manner by the INE, except in País Vasco, where the Basque Statistics Institute (EUSTAT) is in charge of data collection, under a collaboration agreement with the INE.

      In addition to the CAWI collection, both telephone and e-mail support is provided.

  • 18.4. Data validation

    • During the completion of the electronic questionnaire (IRIA), a cleaning system is used in the data entry that detects errors and inconsistencies. Then a second cleaning is applied in which a manual correction is carried out of the errors detected in the main variables and an automatic cleaning of the rest of the variables.

  • 18.5. Data compilation

    • During the micro-cleaning process, the detection and cleaning of errors and inconsistencies in the identification variables of each record is carried out, as well as the cleaning and imputation of content errors.

  • 18.6. Adjustment

    • No adjustment is made.

• 19. Comment

  • 19.1. Comment