The Mayor of London, , has activated the pan-London
Severe Weather Emergency Protocols (SWEP) for the first time this
year to protect homeless people as temperatures are forecast to
fall well below 0°C tonight.
The activation of SWEP compels councils across London (alongside
homelessness charities) to open emergency accommodation for
people who are sleeping rough during weather conditions that
could pose a threat to life.
This winter the Mayor has also invested £800,000 in new homeless
accommodation at a hotel in east London. Whilst London’s boroughs
will be providing over 500 SWEP beds this winter, the new hotel
will act as overflow accommodation, offering a further 66 rooms
for rough sleepers across London. A further boost to pan-London
capacity is expected in the next month to take the total number
of SWEP places to more than 600 for the first
time.
The Mayor will spend a record £1.25m on SWEP services alone this
winter as well as working with the charity Housing Justice to
provide grants to COVID safe winter shelters to assist them with
long term solutions to those who access these crucial
services. All London councils have also committed to implementing
the Mayor’s ‘In for Good’ principle, meaning that once someone
has accessed SWEP accommodation, they are accommodated until a
support plan is in place to end their rough sleeping - regardless
of whether the temperature has risen above freezing.
To avoid the risk of Covid infections, the Mayor has asked
boroughs that only single-occupancy accommodation such as hotel
rooms be used for SWEP provision.
Since the first lockdown in March 2020, 11 per cent of all rough
sleepers have been under the age of 25, with a 48 per cent
increase seen in the period July to September 2020 (according to
the GLA/St Mungo’s CHAIN quarterly report) compared to the same
period in 2019. The number of young women rough sleeping doubled
over the same period and the number of young homeless people who
identify as LGBTQ+ remains disproportionately high. This year,
the Mayor’s Winter Fundraising Campaign is once again raising
funds for four charities working with young homeless Londoners:
Depaul, akt, Centrepoint and New Horizon Youth Centre.
Since 2016, working closely with local authorities and the
Government, the Mayor’s rough sleeping services have helped over
12,000 rough sleepers, with the number of people sleeping on the
street falling by 26 percent. Government data shows that in the
last year alone, the number of rough sleepers in London has
fallen by 37 percent.
The Mayor of London, said: “Too many people
are facing a cold winter on the streets of the capital, without
the safe, secure accommodation that should be the basic right of
every Londoner.
“Across London, we will do everything we can to avoid anyone
being forced to sleep rough in these freezing conditions.
“As ever, London’s councils and charities will be working hard
over the weekend to support some of the most vulnerable people in
our city. On behalf of all Londoners I thank them for their
tireless efforts.”
Notes to editors
- This is the third time SWEP has been activated this winter.
The first activation was on the weekend of 27/28 November, the
second on 21 December.
- Since winter 2017/18, the GLA has provided guidance for
London’s councils regarding local SWEP plans. This guidance,
which has been agreed by all 33 London councils, introduced a
trigger point for pan-London SWEP activation of 0°C on any one
night to ensure consistency across the capital.
