Today, Wednesday 30 June, the annual Combined Homelessness and
Information Network (CHAIN) statistics for 2020/21 have been
published, showing levels of rough sleeping across London between
April 2020 and March 2021.
Key statistics include:
- A total of 11,018 people were seen rough
sleeping in London during 2020/21. This is a 3%
increase compared to the total of 10,726 people seen in
2019/20.
-
7,531 people were seen rough sleeping for the first
time this year, representing 68% of all people seen
sleeping rough. This is a 7% increase on the
number of new rough sleepers in 2019/20.
- New rough sleepers are the group which has shown the greatest
increase compared to 2019/20.
- There has been a 94% increase in rough sleeping
numbers since 2011/12 (5,678) to 2020/21 (11,018).
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:
“It’s dreadful to see an increase in the numbers of people
sleeping on our streets. Although this year’s rise is modest it
is worth taking a step back and noting that in the past decade
rough sleeping numbers have increased by a shocking 94%.
“There is nothing inevitable about this. Last year we saw
brilliant but short-lived measures that dramatically reduced the
numbers of people sleeping rough. But the commitments made at the
start of the pandemic have fallen away and this progress is now
in imminent danger of being lost.
“As the Government looks ahead to restrictions lifting across the
country and the return to ‘normal’ life, it is unacceptable that
we are seeing a return to pre-pandemic levels of rough sleeping
across London. We are supposed to be building back better. We
cannot and should not tolerate a society where people are left
with no option but to bed down in doorways and underpasses.
“We need long-term solutions if we are to end rough sleeping for
good. This must be led by a national strategy that commits to
help everyone, no matter where they were born, and delivers
genuinely affordable housing and programmes like Housing First
for people with complex support needs. Without this, we will see
people who were helped off the streets during the pandemic, and
those at risk of homelessness due to the financial pressures it
has unleashed, left at risk and with nowhere to go.”
-Ends-
Notes to Editor
CHAIN data: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports
