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News in Brief : Issue 159

December 01 2025

News in brief by the Pavement Team

CHAIN reaction

New figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) quarterly report, released in October, have shown that between July and September 2025 an average of 23 people every day were forced to sleep rough for the first time in London. The data makes dismal reading, with a reported 759 people living on the streets of the capital continually through July to September 2025, an 11% rise on last year’s figures over the same time period. Overall 4,711 people were recorded as sleeping rough in London in July to September.


The housing crisis

For the year 2025-26, England will sell eight times more council homes than it built the previous year. Analysis in the i paper has found that an estimated 18,500 council homes will be sold off in 2025-26, in contrast to the 2,260 built in 2024-25. Research by the thinktank Common Wealth highlighted that since 1980, 2.4m council homes have been sold off under right to buy, at a discount that Common Wealth calculated was valued at £194bn, accounting for house price appreciation, with 41% of these homes now belonging to private landlords. In the late 1970s, council homes in England accommodated about 30% of households. The figure is about 6% today, an 80% decline. In 1979, Margaret Thatcher ran for prime minister on a manifesto which included introducing a new Housing Act. In 1980, Thatcher’s Conservative government passed the Housing Act 1980, which gave people the right to buy their council homes. Common Wealth called for expanding “right of first refusal” powers in its November report, powers that enable local authorities to be the preferred buyer when ex-social homes and private rental homes enter the market. 



© the Pavement
Vigil: In early October a record crowd gathered on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields, opposite Trafalgar Square in London. They were there to honour and remember the people who died while experiencing homelessness in the UK. The annual vigil, organised by the Museum of Homelessness, coincides with the release of its Dying Homeless project statistics for the year. The project has a simple goal: to number and, where possible, name the people who have died while experiencing homelessness in the past year. According to the latest report, 1,611 people died while homeless in the UK in 2024 – a 9% increase on last year’s findings. Each death is verified by a freedom of information request, coroners’ report, charity or family member. Find out more about the work the Museum of Homelessness does on its website: museumofhomelessness.org


Bank on it

A project run by Shelter, the government and HSBC to help people experiencing homelessness open bank accounts, will be expanded to include Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, Nationwide and Santander. Commonly, people require a bank account to apply for work and rental accommodation in the UK, which can often be an issue for people experiencing homelessness. The scheme aims to secure people a bank account and provide additional support, such as accompanying individuals to face-to-face meetings at local bank branches. Since the pilot scheme launched in 2019, 7,000 accounts for people experiencing homelessness have been opened with HSBC, reported the Guardian in November. 


Buenos Aires bulletin

The number of people experiencing homelessness in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is increasing at an alarming rate. According to municipal data, which is widely regarded as an underestimate, at least 4,522 people were living on the capital’s streets in May 2025, a 38% increase on the number in November 2023. Charities and homelessness campaigners point to the election of Javier Milei as president in December 2023, whose plan to tackle dizzyingly high inflation has been to implement a devastating austerity programme, as a cause. Accoring to the Guardian, about 200,000 formal jobs have been lost, household debt is on the rise and there has been no improvement in living standards since Miliei took power.



A performance at Recovery Re:Told, an exhibtion organised by the People’s Recovery Project. © the Pavement
Shaping the narrative: The People’s Recovery Project held an exhibition in early October, showcasing art made by people connected to its service. Recovery Re:Told was held at the the House of Annetta in east London from 7-12 October. Drawing on its work supporting people in their recovery from addiction, the People’s Recovery Project aimed to highlight the creative output of its community members, with an array of performances and artworks, including spoken word, music and installations. Learn more about the People’s Recovery Project on its website: thepeoplesrecoveryproject.org


Calling security

Transport for London (TfL) spent £113,365 on hiring a security firm – believed to be MEC Security – to prevent people sleeping rough on Park Lane, between July and September 2025. London Centric revealed in October that security had been deployed to patrol the area and discourage people from sleeping rough there. In May 2025, Westminster City Council won a court order to remove a large encampment on Park Lane near Hyde Park Corner. The strip where people made the encampment is in the Westminster district but is actually managed by TfL. TfL would not say for how long security will patrol the area. 


Funding boost

An additional £1.6m in funding has been provided by the Scottish Government for the next year to tackle homelessness. According to Scottish Housing News, the majority of the funding (£1m) will go towards Discretionary Housing Payments, which help people move from temporary accommodation into settled homes. About £100,000 will be added to an emergency fund for outreach workers to use to help people sleeping rough. The extra funding was announced at Scotland’s Annual Homelessness Conference in Perth, in late October.



© Too Light Too Dark
Podcast news: The latest episode of Too Light Too Dark, the podcast created and hosted by Leon Eckford – whose writing is regularly featured in the Pavement – features members of the Pavement magazine talking about their work and the history of the magazine. The podcast sheds light on people and groups working with homeless people and people in recovery, with past episodes including the People’s Recovery Project and The Homeless Guide. You can listen to Too Light Too Dark on Spotify and Apple Music.


Bad reviews

A Glasgow Evening Times story published in November detailed Glasgow City Council’s legal troubles around homelessness. Since April 2025, the council has had 2,365 threats of judicial review, challenging the council’s use of unsuitable temporary accommodation for people experiencing homelessness. In these cases, people have been placed in unsuitable accommodation for more than seven days, or the council has failed to find suitable alternative accommodation. Of these threats, 31 made it to court, although these were resolved before any orders had to be made against the council.


Obituary

On 3 September, Cyrenians, a Scotland-based charitable organisation providing services focusing on homelessness prevention, shared the deeply sad news that Viki Fox had passed away. Viki had been at Cyrenians for more than eight years, first as a volunteer and later as a full-time staff member. Some of her achievements at Cyrenians include her recent management of the Women’s Recovery House services, as well as committed advocacy for recovery and trauma-informed practice in homeless services. It was while working at Cyrenians that Viki learned about the Pavement magazine. Over a number of years, Viki produced powerful articles exploring her experience of homelessness and substance use. A tireless advocate for homeless people, Viki also worked regularly with Homeless Network Scotland, St Martin-in-the-Fields and was a member of the Board of Trustees at Crisis. Viki will forever be remembered as a wonderfully kind, deeply empaphetic and compassionate person, who brought all of these incredible qualities into her work with the homeless community. We were lucky to know her and share her words with you. 



A picture on display at Look Out!. © The Salvation Army
Photo gallery: A photography group of residents at The Salvation Army’s Strathmore Lodge Lifehouse in Dundee held an exhibition in October, showcasing the incredible work participants in the group produced. The group was given cameras in 2024 and tasked with capturing the city from their own perspective. In October 2025 the results, featuring mostly film and some digital photography, were put on display at Dundee Central Library. The exhibition, Look Out!, was open for two weeks from 9 October, with free entry for visitors. Ricky, a resident of Strathmore Lodge and member of the photography group, stressed the enjoyment of the project in a press release: “My favourite thing was going out on photo walks. Enjoying the sunshine and ending up with good memories that we could print.”

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