Urgent action needed as rough sleeping leaps up by a third

As the number of people sleeping rough in London increases once again, The Salvation Army has warned that the issue needs urgent Government attention.  

New London CHAIN figures*, which are the most detailed data on rough sleeping in England, highlight a 33% increase compared to the same period the previous year.  

From January to March 2024:

Outreach teams recorded 4118 individuals sleeping rough in the capital. Of that total:

• New rough sleepers account for 49% of all rough sleepers.
• Intermittent rough sleepers account for 40% of all those recorded in the period, and
• 12% of those recorded during the period were living on the streets.

To end rough sleeping in England, The Salvation Army is calling for a change in the law, so people forced onto the streets are deemed in priority need by local authorities and supported into longer-term accommodation. The church and charity also want the Government to urgently increase homelessness funding in line with inflation to help ensure services are properly funded. 

These calls come following The Salvation Army urging the Home Secretary to remove proposals in the Criminal Justice Bill which could see rough sleepers fined or imprisoned for ‘nuisance’ rough sleeping in England and Wales. 

Director of The Salvation Army Homeless Services, Nick Redmore, said: 

“The numbers of people sleeping rough is increasing year on year and won’t decline without urgent Government intervention. Penalising people at their most vulnerable is not a deterrent when they have no choice but to face sleeping on the streets. People need appropriate accommodation and support to tackle the reasons behind their homelessness.  

“People often end up sleeping rough because of abuse, trauma, addiction, or poor mental health. To end rough sleeping, it’s crucial to invest in services that help people tackle the root causes that forced them onto the streets in the first place. However, funding for these support services has been repeatedly cut and cannot meet the rising demand. 

“The Salvation Army helps people who are sleeping rough every day. We do this in various ways including providing emergency temporary accommodation to keep people safe and warm and opening our doors for hot meals, drop-in support, and signposting to appropriate services. Unless immediate Government action is taken, we fear the number of people sleeping rough on the streets will continue to increase.”

The Salvation Army is calling for:

• In the short term, a change to homelessness legislation in England so that rough sleepers are added to the priority need list for emergency and then longer-term housing but, in the long term, for the priority need list to be abolished so everyone who is homeless can be helped. 
• A commitment to a sustained investment and increase in housing stock and especially social housing, in the UK to meet the needs of the growing numbers of people experiencing homelessness. 
• An introduction of the same recording system of the rough sleeping population as in London (CHAIN statistics) to other cities and regions in the UK with high levels of homelessness, providing detailed information on the number of homeless people across the whole country in need of support.
• Make sure mental health and addiction support is part of local authority homelessness strategies in England and that targets are set on the number of homeless people who are provided with mental health and addiction support alongside existing targets for accommodation.

The Salvation Army provide a bed for 3,000 people every night in 81 residential hostels, called Lifehouses, across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Officers, staff, and volunteers offer not only practical support in hot food, clothing and a friendly face but also access to wider support and signposting to specialist services and provision.