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Snapshot figures show rough sleeping numbers fell by over a third during pandemic

The number of people seen sleeping rough on a single night in England fell by 37% in 2020 compared with the number in 2019.

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More than 2,000 people were spotted sleeping rough last year during the pandemic (picture: Lucy Brown)
More than 2,000 people were spotted sleeping rough last year during the pandemic (picture: Lucy Brown)
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Labour has said it is “extremely concerning” that 2,688 people were spotted sleeping rough during the pandemic #UKhousing

The government’s latest annual rough sleeping snapshot figure found 2,688 people sleeping rough on a single night in the autumn of 2020, compared with 4,226 in 2019.

Despite the decrease, Labour has said it is “extremely concerning” that this number of people were seen sleeping on the streets during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government’s rough sleeping snapshot estimates how many people were sleeping rough on a single night in England in the autumn each year.

Charities have heavily criticised the government’s method for measuring rough sleeping, arguing that it hides the true scale of the rough sleeping crisis.

However, the government has argued that the single-night snapshot method is a good way of measuring changes over time.

Local authorities determine their figure by either organising a physical count or undertaking an evidence-based exercise, or a combination of the two methods.

This year’s rough sleeping snapshot coincided with a national lockdown throughout November and the tiered restrictions in October.


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According to the government, 262 local authorities (83%) carried out their snapshot estimate during the national lockdown, 44 (14%) carried it out during the tier restrictions and 8 (3%) carried it out prior to the tier restrictions.

The drop in rough sleeping numbers compared with last year is likely to be a result of the government’s Everyone In scheme, which attempted to find emergency accommodation for all rough sleepers during the pandemic.

Since last March, more than 30,000 people have been offered accommodation as a result of the scheme and separate data released by the government today shows that there are currently 11,263 people still living in COVID-19 emergency accommodation.

While the government has been widely praised for its efforts during the first months of the pandemic, charities and politicians have criticised it for not providing the same level of support as the UK experienced a second wave of infections over the autumn and winter.

Commenting on today’s figures, shadow housing secretary Thangam Debbonaire said: “The government promised to bring ‘everyone in’, but even these partial figures show 2,688 people spend this pandemic on the streets.

“It is extremely concerning they have not repeated the emergency support for rough sleeping that was in place during the first lockdown.”

A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The record-breaking fall in rough sleeping in London is testament to the world-leading work done to get people off the streets in the face of the pandemic.

“However, today’s statistics, gathered on a single night last autumn, cannot distract us from the immense amount of work that still needs to be done to end rough sleeping for good.

“Our outreach teams warn us that there is still a steady flow of new rough sleepers to the streets. If the government is serious about ending homelessness, we need bold action in next week’s Budget to tackle the root causes of rough sleeping and support those most at risk of homelessness.”

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Today’s figures reflect the amazing efforts from local authorities and the homelessness sector over the past year to provide people who are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness, including those sleeping rough, with somewhere safe to stay during the pandemic.

“Bringing people off the streets had a life changing impact – it didn’t just provide protection against coronavirus, but gave people an opportunity to engage with vital services, access support and get their health back on track.

“For many, it put them on a path out of homelessness for good. But we must be clear – while positive, these statistics do not represent the full picture. Throughout the pandemic we have seen new people forced onto our streets and every person sleeping rough is one too many.”

Steve Douglas, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said: "Since March last year we have seen an unprecedented effort to support people off the streets to help protect them from COVID-19.

“The ‘Everyone In’ initiative saw a multi-agency, mutli-faceted, multi-skilled emergency response and prompted partnership working between central and local government, health and housing, homelessness charities and housing associations on a scale never seen before, in towns and cities across the country.

“Today’s data – which was collected during autumn’s lockdown – is testament to what has been accomplished and shows clearly what can be achieved in the future. Now we need to translate that emergency response into the way we work every day."

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Today’s figures demonstrate that by working hand in hand with councils, charities and faith groups, the government has made huge progress towards ending rough sleeping and responded to the danger posed by the pandemic in an internationally recognised way.

“At the beginning of the pandemic we took swift and decisive action from the very start to bring rough sleepers in from the streets and settled them into longer- term accommodation in record numbers through our transformational Everyone In initiative. That work continues, the results are clear and a huge credit to all involved.

“Ending rough sleeping is a personal mission for the prime minister and I – and we have made huge progress since he came into No.10 reducing rough sleeping by 43%.There is more to do, but I am determined to continue to drive progress forward backed by £750m in funding.”

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