Rough sleeping in London rises by a fifth to hit a record

A total of 11,993 people were recorded sleeping rough by intelligence teams between April 2023 and March 2024, reports Noah Vickers, local Democracy Reporter

A record number of people have been sleeping rough in London over the past year – including more than 1,200 former private tenants – new figures revealed on Thursday.

A total of 11,993 people were recorded rough sleeping by outreach teams between April 2023 and March 2024 – a 19% increase on the previous twelve months.

Included in this number were at least 1,231 first-time and at least one-night rough sleepers who had previously rented privately. This was double last year’s figure of 540 former private tenants sleeping rough for the first time.

The latest data comes from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), commissioned and funded by the City.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan pointed to the government’s failure to ban “no-fault” evictions – despite promising to do so before the general election – as the reason for the rise.

The Labor mayor said: “Rough sleeping shames us all and Tory ministers in particular. After 14 years, the growing number of people sleeping on park benches and in shop doorways in every region of the country is a powerful symbol of the failure of the Tories in government.

“In London, we have quadrupled the City Hall’s sleeping budget, investing in emergency accommodation, outreach teams and extra cold weather support.

“However, it is clear that much more is needed, starting with stopping ‘no-fault’ evictions and fixing the chaos in the asylum system, which is seeing people moved out of Home Office housing and onto the streets.”

In the past year, 17% of the capital’s new rough sleepers who had information recorded about their last established base before rough sleeping had previously stayed in asylum support units.

Khan added: “The last Labor government dramatically reduced rough sleeping across the country and now we need a change of government on July 4th so we can do the same again.”

Asked about the current government’s failure to ban no-fault evictions in an interview last week, housing secretary Michael Gove said it “wasn’t an abandoned promise, it was simply something that was lapsed by the election”.

He said there were “very good reasons for the election to be called when it was”, but that it meant the government was unable “to complete the passage of the bill through the House of Lords”.

Addressing the 120% rise in rough sleeping in England since 2010, Gove admitted there had been “a number of challenges”, adding that pressure from the immigration and asylum system had played a role and that there had been “pressures on people who have challenges. in their lives’, such as substance abuse.

He added that Homelessness Minister Felicity Buchan had “managed to secure additional funding” for councils to tackle the problem and “if re-elected, she will be able to work with London Councils both to boost housing supply , as well as to provide money for temporary accommodation and cope with rough sleeping”.

The Conservatives went into the 2019 election promising to “end the death of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament”, but Gove said the Covid pandemic had scuppered that pledge and the party was now aiming to reduce rough sleeping to “the effective statistical measure of zero” in time for the next election, expected in 2029.

Commenting on the latest raw figures on sleeping in London, Nick Redmore, director of homelessness at the charity The Salvation Army, said: “When the newly elected Prime Minister closes the door on Number Ten, just a few blocks away, people will try to find a safe place to sleep at night.

“He will lead the country at a time when rough sleeping is the highest it has been in four years (across England).

“However, there is still time to reverse the rise in homelessness and rough sleeping. The Salvation Army calls for ending rough sleeping to be a priority for the next government.”

John Glenton, chief executive of care and support at social housing provider Riverside, said: “It is vital that whoever wins the next election provides limited funding for the council’s homelessness services to prevent cash-strapped local authorities from putting end funding for homeless sleeping services at a time when they are most needed.

“Finally, we can only stop people sleeping rough and reduce the number of adults and children living in temporary accommodation if we build more social housing and reform broken welfare rules.”

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