3 hours Ago By PA Media: UK News
People classed as living on the streets of London in the three months leading to Christmas was up by more than a quarter on the same period in 2023, figures show. The total number of people sleeping rough on London’s streets between October and December last year was up by 5% on the previous year, data branded “incredibly concerning” by charities revealed. There were 4,612 people recorded as sleeping rough in the capital between October and December, up from 4,389 in the same period in 2023.
Almost half (46%) of the 4,612 were new rough sleepers, while 41% were classed as intermittent rough sleepers. Around one in 10 (15%) were seen to be living on the streets. The number of people deemed to be living on the streets between October and December (704 people) was up by more than a quarter (26%) on the same period in 2023, and rose 3% from the July-September period last year.
Numbers sleeping rough in the capital hit a record high in the previous July-September period at 4,780, so while the most recent figures are down slightly on that, they are the second highest quarterly figure on record. Homelessness charity St Mungo’s described the figures as “incredibly concerning”, while Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services said a “shocking” number of people had and still are facing the “trauma of sleeping on our streets this winter”. New rough sleepers – of which 2,115 were recorded – decreased by 7% on the same period in 2023.
Rick Henderson, chief executive at Homeless Link, said: “Thousands of lives are being ruined because our support services and the systems that fund them have been pushed to breaking point.” He welcomed extra funding from central Government as a “positive start” but added: “Now is the time to get it right once and for all and end homelessness for good”. He said: “We are calling for a wholesale review and reset of the funding system and a national homelessness strategy that shifts the focus from crisis management to prevention to ensure that people get the support they need and do not lose their homes in the first place.
” Chief executive of St Mungo’s, Emma Haddad, called for more focus on prevention. She said: “That the latest rough sleeping figures for London have continued to rise is incredibly concerning. Behind every number is a person who has spent the night on the pavement in winter.
” London’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who has pledged to end rough sleeping in the capital for good by 2030, recently said he believed things could get worse this year, before improving in 2026. He told the Big Issue magazine: “I think you’ll start seeing progress, there will be milestones along the way. We’re in 2025 now, I think things are going to get worse this year but things will improve by next year.
” He has announced what he described as “the biggest ever investment in tackling rough sleeping” since 2000, in the form of homelessness hubs across the city. Following the publication of the latest figures on Friday, a spokesperson for the Mayor described the numbers as “a shameful legacy of the last Government”. They added: “The Mayor is doing everything in his power to help Londoners off the streets and into more secure accommodation.
“Just this week he delivered the biggest ever single investment of £10 million to tackle the capital’s rough sleeping crisis – more than any London Mayor – to expand the number of homelessness hubs across the capital.” Earlier this month the Government announced it was tripling rough sleeping funding for England to help people off the streets this winter to £30 million. The Government had announced £10 million before Christmas to boost the use of emergency accommodation, but said an extra £20 million was now available to tackle record levels of rough sleeping.
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