Morning Briefing: controversy over ministers’ use of rough sleeping statistics

In the news

The chair of the UK Statistics Authority has said ministers should not use official rough sleeping statistics to make claims about falls in rough sleeping in England until the government addresses concerns that some councils receiving government funding have under-reported the problem in their area, The Guardian reports.

Statistics published earlier this year showed a 2% drop in rough sleeping, the first fall since 2010, and ministers said this was a sign the government’s Rough Sleeping Initiative was working.

But Sir David Norgrove, according to The Guardian, said these claims should not be trusted until ministers have explained how the Rough Sleeping Initiative emergency funding scheme might have skewed the figures. The Independent also reports on the story here.

The Big Issue has published information gathered from councils about the impact of the Homelessness Reduction Act more than a year on from the legislation coming into effect.

The legislation places duties on councils to prevent people from becoming homelessness.

The magazine has published a brief snapshot of its findings, mentioning several local authorities which have had a lot of approaches for help from people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. It also notes that only 23 local authorities outside of London have received £100,000 or more in government funds to help them cope with the new duties.

Inside Housing in December reported on figures for homelessness acceptances in the first three months of the act coming into effect. We also published this piece last July looking at how councils were coping with the new requirements.