More Housing Misery Rough Sleeping has reached a new peak

 

More Housing Misery -  GOV.UK says Rough Sleeping has reached a new peak.

The number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in England has reached  its highest level since records began in 2010. A total of 4,793, reached on a night  in autumn 2025   this exceeds the previous peak of 4,751 in 2017. This is the fourth annual increase in a row, increasing 3% since 2024, and 171% higher than 2010 when the snapshot approach was introduced.

  • Regional Peaks: While London remains the area with the highest number of rough sleepers (1,277), the steepest year-on-year increase occurred in the North East, where numbers rose by 31%.
  • Demographics:

o    Women: The number of women sleeping rough rose by 8% to 733.

o    Nationality: Approximately 62% of rough sleepers are UK nationals. In London, nearly half (47%) are non-British.

  • Long-term Rough Sleeping: Long-term cases (those seen sleeping rough in three or more of the last 12 months) also hit a record high, rising 28% since late 2023. 

Contributing Factors

Charities and officials point to several systemic pressures driving these figures: 

  • Housing Crisis: A critical lack of social and affordable housing, combined with record-high private rents.
  • Asylum and Migration: A significant increase in people leaving asylum support accommodation with nowhere to go.
  • Institutional Discharge: People being released from prison or discharged from hospitals without stable housing pathways.  

Government and Charity Response

In response to these figures, the UK government has announced £50 million in extra funding for local authorities and frontline services. The government’s National Plan to End Homelessness aims to halve long-term rough sleeping by 2030, though organizations like the Centre for Social Justice and St Mungo's have called for more ambitious interventions, such as a national rollout of the Housing First model. 

Jm April 27th 2026

 

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