Fewer people sleeping rough but longer-term support lacking

28 Feb 2020 10:15 AM

Blog posted by: Louise Weaver, Thursday, 27 February 2020.

On 27 February 2020, the Government published the Rough Sleeping Statistics for England in Autumn 2019.

A total of 4,266 people were deemed to be sleeping rough in England on a single ‘typical’ night in autumn 2019, representing a 9% decrease from the 2018 figure of 4,677. However, rough sleeping is still 141% higher than in 2010.

Responding to the statistics, Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, yesterday comments:

“It is good news that the 2019 snapshot recorded fewer people sleeping on our streets, a mark of progress that suggests that increased Government funding and the tireless efforts of frontline services are having an impact. However, the overall number - which is 141% higher than in 2010 - is unacceptable, and a reduction in rough sleeping does not mean that more people are leaving homelessness behind. The reality is that many areas are falling back on short-term, emergency solutions and Government is yet to commit to a long-term strategy securing the support that many people dearly need. Without this, we risk creating a bottleneck into services with inadequate routes out to more permanent homes and the support people need to keep them.

“We are clearly getting something right. What we need now is cross-Government strategic action and funding that tackles the root causes of homelessness and ends it for good.”

The full Government statistics can be found here.

Homeless Link's analysis and regional and demographic of the statistics can be found here.