Official rough sleeping data is just the tip of iceberg, says Salvation Army

Thursday, 25 February 2021 11:03

The Salvation Army is warning that new Government figures showing a drop in rough sleepers across England could be masking a surge in hidden homelessness. Responding to the Annual Rough Sleeping Count 2020, which recorded 2,688 people as being forced to sleep on the streets, a fall of 37 per cent on the previous year, the church and charity said the figures were a significant underestimate of the true scale of homelessness. This figure is still up by 920 people or 52 per...Request free trial

The Salvation Army is warning that new Government figures showing a drop in rough sleepers across England could be masking a surge in hidden homelessness.

Responding to the Annual Rough Sleeping Count 2020, which recorded 2,688 people as being forced to sleep on the streets, a fall of 37 per cent on the previous year, the church and charity said the figures were a significant underestimate of the true scale of homelessness. This figure is still up by 920 people or 52 per cent since 2010.

Lorrita Johnson, The Salvation Army’s Director of Homelessness Services, said: “Any official figures that suggest fewer people are being forced to sleep rough offer a glimmer of hope.

“But we must be cautious about the data. New rough sleepers are coming onto the streets all the time andinclude those whose livelihoods disappeared overnight or when their living conditions, such as sofa surfing, became impossible due to social distancing. We have yet to see the true impact of the pandemic on people’s lives but we expect many more people to be at real risk of being made homeless as the economy bites.”

The annual count in November 2020 happened during the ‘Everyone In’ initiative when 9,866 people were already temporarily housed in emergency accommodation, including hotels. Therefore, anyone counted for the new Government figures is likely to be newly homeless or had returned to the streets.

Lorrita continued: “We know the upcoming budget is again a one-year funding allocation and understand the reasons behind this, due to the pandemic. But The Salvation Army is extremely concerned that the gains from ‘Everyone In’ will be squandered unless we quickly see a long-term approach to funding homelessness support.

“The Government can’t keep guessing about the number of rough sleepers, and a more robust recording method is needed so that funding can be properly allocated to cover the costs local councils are facing for homelessness support.”

An overhaul of the way rough sleeping is measured is one of the reforms proposed in The Salvation Army’s report, Future Proof the Roof¹. It calls for quarterly produced data-gathering for London, known as CHAIN², to be extended across the country to allow for more accurate planning and funding of support services.

As well as housing and caring for 3,000 people in Lifehouses (supported housing for former rough sleepers), The Salvation Army is also working across the country to support people in emergency accommodation and help people move into more permanent housing in line with local authorities’ plans under their Rough Sleeping and Next Steps Accommodation Programmes. The Salvation Army continues to provide food and blankets for people on the streets.

ENDS

Notes to editors

¹Salvation Army’s Future-Proof the Roof report:

The Salvation Army published its own blueprint for tackling homelessness and rough sleeping last summer,Future-Proof the Roof. The report highlights a new approach to investment in homelessness and rough sleeping, which will allow the Government to maintain recent progress and provide added protection against the wider economic downturn caused by Covid-19.

Key recommendations from Future-Proof the Roof include:

The Government needs to introduce a full multi-year investment plan for homelessness and rough sleeping across the course of this Parliament. At a minimum, this plan must ensure that investment does not fall below the £750 million invested in 2020/21.
The social security system must prevent rather than cause homelessness by maintaining the recent increase in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), so that people can afford to rent at least three in every ten of the most affordable properties in any given area. Following the Spending Review in November, this means the Government must reverse its freeze on the value of LHA rates from 2021/22 so that its value can increase yearly in line with inflation.
The Government must also make the temporary £20 per week increase to the standard allowance of Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit permanent from April. The Government must keep this lifeline to prevent 700,000 more people, including 300,000 children, from falling into poverty overnight, further increasing their risk of homelessness.
The Government must introduce a CHAIN type recording system in city regions outside of London with high levels of rough sleeping, so that the Government can accurately calculate the level of resource and investment required to end rough sleeping during this Parliament in line with its manifesto commitment.