Our campaign hailed

‘Statistics hide the scale of problem’

LABOUR has written to the National Statistics Authority calling for a rethink of the way rough sleepers are counted.

Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey wrote that the statistics currently “seriously under-estimate the scale of the problem, to an extent that detracts from their use in public debate”.

He has accused the

Ministry of Housing of a “do nothing” approach three years after the National Statistics Authority stripped the figures of their official HEART-BREAKING stories of the circumstances which led to people sleeping rough have poured in since we launched our On The Street campaign.

Our arresting front page was held up by Labour MP Neil Coyle during a debate on homelessness and praised for “humanising” the issue.

The campaign has received huge support on social media.

Our #Mirroronthestreet status. In 2015 the NSA decided homelessness figures, which came from a multitude of overlapping sources, could not be classed as national statistics.

Mr Healey accused the Government of choosing not to collect and publish the true figures on rough sleeping.

He said: “The Government’s inaction on this matter suggests that they are happy for under-counting to continue, to help to conceal the scale of rough sleeping in this country.” hashtag gives a small glimpse into the massive problem which has blighted towns and cities up and down the country.

And we have been inundated by messages of support from readers who feel that for too long those they see shivering outside their local shops, libraries and stations have been ignored by politicians and the media.