Number of people sleeping rough in England rises for first time since 2017

The number of people sleeping rough is up by 74% since 2010 as Homeless Link brands the rise a ‘massive collective failure’

A snapshot of a single night in autumn last year saw 3,069 people sleeping rough, figures show (Nicholas T Ansell/PA) (PA Wire)

The number of people estimated to be 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 saw 3,069 people sleeping rough, the annual Government statistics showed.

The figure is up by almost three quarters (74%) since 2010 when the snapshot method of gathering figures was introduced.

The number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn last year was up by 626 people or 26% from 2021.

The rise has been branded a “massive, collective failure” by a charity, and comes after the Government published its “Ending rough sleeping for good” strategy in September aiming to keep to its manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping in this Parliament.

Rick Henderson, chief executive at Homeless Link, which is the national membership 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: “Everyone deserves a safe place to live and the support they need to keep it. This shocking rise in the number of people sleeping rough represents a massive, collective failure. People are being let down by systems that should protect them, forced onto the streets at the expense of their physical and mental health.

“The 26% rise is evidence of how the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated long-standing drivers of homelessness, such as a shortage of affordable housing, an often punitive welfare system and increasingly stretched health services.

“At the same time continuing financial pressures mean hundreds of homelessness services across the country are on the brink of closing down, risking leaving people experiencing homelessness with nowhere to turn.”

He urged the Government to take “urgent action to keep homelessness services open” by increasing funding in line with inflation.

The rate of people sleeping rough on a single night in England in 2022 was 5.4 people per 100,000 – up from 4.3 per 100,000 in 2021 but lower than the 8.5 per 100,000 in 2017.

The Government said rough sleeping has increased in every region of England compared to the previous year, with the biggest rise in London which went up by more than a third (34%).

There were 858 people in 2022 estimated to be sleeping rough in the capital on a single night compared to 640 people in 2021, an increase of 218 people.

Sadiq Khan says the number of people sleeping rough in London is ‘extremely alarming’ (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Almost half (47%) of all people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn are in London and the South East, the Government said.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described the rise in people sleeping rough on London’s streets as “extremely alarming and further evidence of the devastating fallout from the cost-of-living crisis”.

He said: “It is high time ministers got a grip on the escalating food, energy and housing crises and restored the social security safety net which helps stop people becoming trapped in a cycle of homelessness.

“To do this, ministers must first fulfil their manifesto pledge to end no-fault eviction for private renters and invest in new council and genuinely affordable homes to help prevent more Londoners from becoming homeless in the first place.”

As with previous years, most people sleeping rough in England are male, aged over 26 years old and from the UK.