Modelling Council House Allocation

1.30 - 5.30pm, Tuesday 19th June 2001
14 India Street, Edinburgh

The International Centre for Mathematical Sciences is holding an informal afternoon workshop on housing allocation and homelessness levels and their mathematical modelling on 19th June. Some time will also be devoted to related issues, such as waiting lists, in other fields.

The intention is for most of the presentations to be by people with working knowledge of housing issues, such as factors governing allocation or homelessness, but with some on the mathematical modelling done so far. There could also be presentations by practioners in other areas, perhaps health care, where allocation methods and waiting times are significant issues.

The meeting has a number of aims, including:

• To inform policy makers in local authorities of the work done so far in modelling housing allocation.
• To determine the modifications needed to the Edinburgh model for housing allocation to take account of other local authority rules.
• To discuss with housing experts if factors such as quality and location of houses should be included in the model.
• To promote research by applied mathematicians in these areas.
• To prompt mathematical work aimed at analysing how varying strategies can affect waiting-list sizes and waiting times.
• To identify key influences on demand to see how reasons for homelessness, for example, should be built into such models.
• To encourage work in other social fields where waiting lists and allocation priorities play rôles and to built links with practioners in these areas.

If you would like to attend please contact Andrew Lacey, one of the organisers of the meeting (A.A.Lacey@ma.hw.ac.uk), or Tracey Dart at ICMS (tracey@maths.ed.ac.uk) .