Housing Secretary MP:
“Today’s figures show that we are making promising progress,
building on last year’s achievement which saw the first fall in
the number of people sleeping rough for the first time in eight
years.
“It is a moral scandal that in 2020 so many people continue to
sleep rough on the streets, and that is why I am determined to
end the blight of rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament.
“This confirms what I have seen since becoming Housing Secretary
– that dedicated, targeted support backed by unparalleled levels
of Government support is getting vulnerable people off the
streets and into safe accommodation where they can turn their
lives around.
“But this doesn’t mean our work ends here. I will not rest until
we have eradicated rough sleeping, and I remain absolutely
committed to ending this social ill once and for, which is why I
welcome today’s appointment of Dame Louise Casey to lead an
urgent review into the causes of rough sleeping, alongside an
additional £236m to get people off the streets.
“These measures will help ensure we help every rough sleeper in
the country off the street by the end of this Parliament.
Further information:
- The number of people sleeping
rough has fallen by 9% since 2018, following last year’s figures
which showed the first decrease in the number rough sleepers
since 2010;
- Today’s figures are based on
the single night snapshot of rough sleeping conducted during
Autumn 2019. The snapshot is taken annual in England using street
counts, evidenced-based estimates, and estimates informed by
street counts;
- These figures are reached
through the active involvement of hundreds of volunteers from
homeless charities, as well as support from local authority staff
and people from local communities;
- The figures are independently
verified by Homeless Link – a national homelessness charity;
- The snapshot aims to get an
accurate a representation as possible of the number of people
sleeping rough and is conducted by groups who have the best
possible knowledge of local rough sleepers;
- The methodology for
collecting this data has been in place since 2010 and aligns with
the approach which is now standard in many parts of the world
including Canada, the United States, Japan and other European
countries, providing a reliable way of comparing change over
time.
- Just last month the
Government announced a further £112m through the Rough Sleeping
Initiative – a 30% funding increase this year - which will fund
up to 6,000 bed spaces and 2,500 support staff in councils across
the country;
- The Government is also
investing £1.2bn into funding services for rough sleepers and
those at risk of becoming homeless, and have introduced the
Homelessness Reduction Act which means councils have to take
action to prevent homelessness before it happens
