An analysis of the first-ever official homeless death count has revealed that homeless people are nine times more likely to die in deprived areas.
The Office for National Statistics’ deep dive in to the count they released in December uncovered the “nothing less than shameful” statistic as well as revealing some of the worst-hit areas in England and Wales.
Largely, that was the big cities with 95 per cent of all deaths classed as urban as opposed to rural – with 574 people dying in built-up areas compared to just 26 deaths in the countryside.
Places with the most estimated deaths of homeless people in 2017 included: Manchester (21 deaths), Birmingham (18), Bristol (17), Lambeth (17), Liverpool (17) and Camden (15) https://t.co/xezHCM7r86 pic.twitter.com/HabtLgAEo2
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) February 25, 2019
In 2017, the last year of their five-year study, Manchester led the way with 21 deaths, just ahead of Birmingham (18 deaths) and Bristol (17 deaths). London was counted by individual authorities with Lambeth and Camden leading the way with 17 and 15 deaths respectively.
Of the 2,181 deaths counted over five years, Greater London had the most with 536 people, ahead of the North West of England’s 330. The South East was narrowly behind with 324 people while Wales was the region with the lowest at 75 people.