Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what comparative estimate he has made of the number of people sleeping rough in the (a) UK and (b) London Borough of Lambeth in (i) the most recent period for which figures are available and (ii) 2010; and what information his Department holds on which area of the UK has the highest number of people sleeping rough.

MHCLG does not provide an estimate of the number of people sleeping rough across the whole of the UK.

MHCLG’s latest annual Rough Sleeping Statistics, published on 31 January 2019, show the total number of people counted or estimated to be sleeping rough in England only, on a single night in Autumn 2018 was 4,677. This was down by 74 people or 2 per cent from the 2017 total of 4,751 and was up 2,909 people or 165 per cent from the 2010 total of 1,768.

These annual single night snapshots of the number of people sleeping rough are provided by all local authority areas in England from 2010 onwards. In Lambeth, there were 50 people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2018. This was up 37 people or 285 per cent from the 2010 total of 13 people. The area with the highest number of people sleeping rough on a single night in Autumn 2018 was Westminster with 306 people sleeping rough.

These statistics are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018

This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.