Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Rise in rough sleeping

March 06 2012
Official figures show numbers are up by almost a quarter in one year

 

Councils across the country saw a startling rise in rough sleepers last year with some figures growing by almost one hundred per cent. The majority of councils across England, contacted as part of a survey by Inside Housing saw a dramatic increase in the numbers of rough sleepers in 2011. The survey came ahead of the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) figures released in February showing a rise in England of 23 per cent in the last year. The DCLG statistics come from the count of 2,181 people sleeping rough on any one night, up from last year’s total of 1,768. The greatest rise was seen in the South of England, particularly the South West.

Essex-based homelessness charity Streets2Homes has reported a steady increase in rough sleepers in the last year, with yet more numbers predicted as local job losses leave many redundant workers in rent arrears. The charity also fears that cuts to housing benefit including proposed changes to the single occupancy housing benefit will push more people onto the streets.

In London, nearly 4,000 people were reported to be sleeping rough during 2010 and 2011, despite Mayor Boris Johnson’s plans to eradicate rough sleeping from the city streets by 2012.

Homelessness charity Crisis has predicted that the worst is yet to come “due to the combination of rising unemployment and government policies including cuts to housing benefit”. A rise in this year’s numbers is seen by those in the sector as almost inevitable.

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