Number of rough sleepers rises for the first time in six years
THE number of people sleeping rough in England has risen for the first time since 2017, new figures show.
A snapshot of a single night in autumn last year found 3,069 people sleeping rough, up 626 (26 per cent) on the equivalent total for 2021 and nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) above the level in 2010 when the figures began.
Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, the national member- ship charity for frontline homelessness organisations, said the rise of more than a quarter year-on-year since 2021 “is evidence of how the cost of living crisis has exacerbated long-standing drivers of homelessness”.
He said: “This shocking rise in the number of people sleeping rough represents a massive, collective failure.”
The rate of people sleeping rough on a single night in England in autumn 2022 was 5.4 people per 100,000 – up from 4.3 in 2021 but lower than the 8.5 in 2017, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Almost half (47 per cent) of those were in London and the South East.
As with previous years, most people sleeping rough in England are male, aged over 26 and from the UK.
The Government published its “ending rough sleeping for good” strategy in September, which restated its mani- festo commitment to deal with it by the end of this Parliament.
A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said more than 500,000 households had been prevented from becoming homeless or supported into settled accommodation since 2018 and rough sleeping remained below prepandemic levels.
He said: “We know there is more to do to help families at risk of losing their homes and end rough sleeping for good. That’s why we will be abolishing Section 21 evictions and are investing £2billion over three years to tackle the issue allocated to areas with the greatest need. This includes financial support for people to find a new home, working with landlords to prevent evictions or providing temporary accommodation.”