Rising street homelessness in London will come as no surprise to city mayor Sadiq Khan, who has targeted ending rough sleeping in the English capital by 2030.
Khan announced an additional £10m funding to tackle rough sleeping this week in what he called the “single biggest investment” in tackling the issue in London. The cash will be used to prevent people spending their first night on the streets through an expanded network of Ending Homelessness Hubs.
But he admitted to Big Issue that he doesn’t expect to see a decline in rough sleeping until 2026.
Khan told the Big Issue: “I’m not going to wait until 2029 to end rough sleeping by 2030. We’ll start seeing progress once the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes an act, once we’ve negotiated with the government affordable housing programme and once we start seeing the cost of living crisis being addressed.”
When asked if that meant progress in 2025, Khan added: “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.”
Glass Door Homeless Charity runs the largest network of emergency night shelters across London and it has seen more than 1,200 people have been referred to stay in a shelter since November with more than 400 people staying for at least one night.
Jo Carter, chief executive of Glass Door Homeless Charity, said: “These figures are a reminder that the last government’s commitment to end rough sleeping by 2024 was not met. In London, things are as bad as they have ever been, and it is vital that we do not accept this as a normal part of life.
“We will continue to offer shelter and a route out of homelessness to as many people as we can. But there are simply far too many people without anywhere safe to sleep, and neither Glass Door Homeless Charity nor any other charity can meet the demand. We need drastic action from the government to end the national disgrace of rough sleeping once and for all.”
The Chain statistics are considered the most accurate measure of rough sleeping across the country as they see frontline workers track the flow of rough sleeping over time.
The figures show a rapid increase in the number of people living on the streets with numbers increasing by more than half in just three years.
Just under 3,000 people were sleeping rough in London in October to December 2021 as the Covid pandemic eased and the cost of living crisis took hold but now that figure stands at 4,612 people.
John Glenton, executive director of Riverside Care and Support, said the £10m investment from mayor Khan as well as £30m in central government funding to support rough sleepers this winter will help.
“As we look towards the comprehensive spending review, the homelessness sector is crying out for long-term, ring-fenced funding,” added Glenton. “This will enable councils to invest more money in long-term homelessness services and prevent homelessness from occurring in the first place.
“Providing more bed spaces so we can help more people off the streets and into a dedicated space where they can receive the support they need is now more crucial than ever.”
The Labour government has also pledged to spend £1bn tackling homelessness and rough sleeping this year, including a sharp increase in spending on preventing people ending up on the streets.
Homelessness charities have called for prevention to be at the heart of Khan’s upcoming rough sleeping action plan and central government’s homelessness strategy with both expected to be published later this year.
“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,” said Rick Henderson, chief executive at Homeless Link, the national membership body for frontline homelessness services.
Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, added: “A homelessness system focused on prevention means no one released from prison or hospital or care onto the streets; no one evicted from their accommodation because the landlord wants to double the rent; no one unable to find anywhere affordable to live because housing benefit has been frozen.
“There are tangible things that would prevent people having no choice but to sleep rough, and we know they are achievable by working together.”
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