Dozens of homeless deaths in region ‘could be an underestimate’
Almost 50 found dead over past year
FIGURES SUGGESTING that almost 600 homeless people – including 49 in Yorkshire and the Humber – died last year are a “conservative estimate” with the true numbers potentially higher, the Office for National Statistics has said.
Research showed the number of deaths of rough sleepers and those in emergency accommodation rose by 24 per cent from 482 in 2013 to 597 last year across England and Wales.
But the ONS report added challenges in collecting data means the true picture may be even worse. “The method used provides a robust but conservative estimate, so the real numbers may still be higher,” it said.
Housing Secretary James Brokenshire said the Government was taking action to eliminate rough sleeping after Labour blamed cutbacks to social security and support services for the rise in deaths.
“The death of anyone who is homeless is a tragedy,” he said.
“We remain focused and resolute in our commitment to make rough sleeping a thing of the past and where we need to do more, we will.”
Dewsbury MP Paula Sherriff said: “Every death of a homeless person is a stain on our society. If we are judged as a nation and a government on how we treat our vulnerable, then our nation and our Government are broken.”
FORTY-NINE HOMELESS people died in Yorkshire and the Humber last year – an increase of almost 60 per cent in five years that has been described as “a source of national shame”.
New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show a 58 per cent rise in the number of estimated homeless deaths in the region in 2017 compared to 2013, when 31 deaths were estimated.
Of the 49 estimated deaths, 40 were based on identified records and the ONS said its modelling method “provides a robust but conservative estimate, so the real numbers may still be higher”.
Thirteen of the deaths were in West Yorkshire, with nine in the Sheffield City Region, which covers South Yorkshire and parts of North Derbyshire. Earlier this month, rough sleeper Lee Jenkinson became the eighth homeless person to die in Leeds in the past 12 months.
In the past five years, there have been an estimated 189 homeless deaths in Yorkshire and the Humber,
Across England and Wales, some 597 people sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation were estimated to have died last year – a 24 per cent increase on 2013.
The scale of homeless deaths has been branded a “national tragedy”.
Life expectancy for the homeless is nearly half that for people in stable housing, with homeless men and women dying on average at the age of 44.
While London had the highest mortality rate, the North West of England saw the largest increase
over the period, with homeless deaths more than doubling.
It was estimated that last year more than one in 10 homeless deaths were due to suicide, while more than two-fifths was due to drug poisoning or alcohol-related.
Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said: “This is nothing short of a national tragedy – especially when we know that homelessness is not inevitable.
“In one of the world’s wealthi- est countries, no one should be dying because of homelessness. It’s imperative that governments act now to stop this tragedy once and for all.”
Shelter campaign director Greg Beales branded the deaths “a source of national shame”.
“There is nothing inevitable about homelessness or about these tragic deaths which are a consequence of a housing system which fails too many people,” he added.
The charity blamed a “crippling shortage of social housing” as well as a “threadbare safety net”, as it called on the Government to change tack to end the scourge.
The Local Government Association said ending homelessness was becoming “increasingly difficult” with a funding gap, as it called for “proper resourcing”.
LGA housing spokesman Councillor Martin Tett said: “Every death of a homeless person is preventable. We must make this everybody’s business to work together to stop this tragic loss of life and stop homelessness from happening in the first place.
“Councils are determined to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping from happening in the first place and support families affected. This is becoming increasingly difficult with homelessness services facing a funding gap of more than £100m in 2019/20.
“Proper resourcing of local government funding is essential if we are going to end rising homelessness.”
The statistics came a day after MPs were told about the death of a homeless man, a 43-year-old known as Gyula Remes, who was found outside the Houses of Parliament.
This is nothing short of a tragedy – homelessness isn’t inevitable.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis.