New figures show rough sleeping in England spikes yet again

As the number of people sleeping rough in England jumps by 20 per cent, The Salvation Army is calling for reform of legislation that denies thousands of people emergency accommodation.

• The annual Rough Sleeping Snapshot in England* estimates that 4667 people were sleeping rough on a single night in Autumn 2024, an increase of 20 per cent compared to the previous year’s figure.
• A second set of Government figures** published today also reveals that 44,920 households were registered as homeless in England between July and September 2024, which is up 1.5 per cent on the same quarter the previous year.

The Salvation Army says the rough sleeping crisis is being worsened by legislation that bars thousands of people from council accommodation because they do not meet strict ‘priority need’ criteria. Priority need is used by councils to ensure the most vulnerable get emergency support and includes parents with dependent children and people with a disability. While it’s essential these groups are helped, this still leaves thousands facing sleeping on the streets.

Moreover, the Government’s plan to freeze the value of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in April despite rising rents, will push more households into homelessness. LHA is the rate used to calculate housing benefit for private renters. Freezing this crucial allowance risks many not being able to pay their rent leaving them facing homelessness. 

As one of the country’s largest providers of homelessness services, the church and charity is calling for the Government to address both these issues in its upcoming homelessness strategy.

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

“The Government’s recent pledge of £1 billion and promises of a strategy to tackle homelessness shows real commitment to lasting change, but unless this addresses legislation and policies that are making the homelessness crisis worse, the Government risks failing the very people it aims to help.

“Currently legislation judges thousands of people as not vulnerable enough to make them a priority for housing even though they are sleeping on the streets, sometimes for years. Until this changes, the number of rough sleepers will continue to rise.

“As well as protecting people at the point when they lose their home, action also needs to be taken to prevent people being made homeless in the first place. So many people in privately rented accommodation struggle to pay their rent every month. Freezing housing benefits in the face of rising rents, could cost many low-income renters their homes.”

The Salvation Army is calling on the Government to:

• Change 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.
• Maintain the value of the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to protect it against a rise in inflation so the poorest households can at least afford the cheapest third of private rental properties in their area.
• Introduce 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 would help both national government and local authorities better plan their homeless support and prevention services.

* Rough sleeping snapshot in England: autumn 2024 - Official statistics announcement - GOV.UK

** Statutory homelessness in England: July to September 2024 - GOV.UK

*** * Under current housing laws, local authorities in England have a duty to find accommodation for people who are homeless but only if they are classed as in priority need. This doesn't currently include people forced to sleep on the streets.

Those considered in priority need are:

(a) a pregnant woman or a person with whom she resides or might reasonably be expected to reside;

(b) a person with whom dependent children reside or might reasonably be expected to reside;

(c) a person who is vulnerable as a result of old age, mental illness or handicap or physical disability or other special reason, or with whom such a person resides or might reasonably be expected to reside;

(d) a person who is homeless or threatened with homelessness as a result of an emergency such as flood, fire or other disaster.

(e) a person who is homeless as a result of that person being a victim of domestic abuse.

(f) a person who is 16 or 17 years old and not being looked after by social services.

(g) a person who is 18, 19 or 20 years old and spent time in care while between 16 and 18.