The news could be about to get even worse. Bird warned in October that this winter was set to be the worst for homelessness since the 1990s.
And Homelessness charity Crisis believe the true homelessness figures to be far, far higher. Their own research suggests more than 8,000 people are currently sleeping rough in England.
This continued rise in rough sleeping will come as little surprise to many people.
To spend time in towns or city centres across the UK now is to come face to face with the people whose precarious living situations form these shocking statistics.
Reaction to the statistics has been loud and damning. Youth homelessness charity Centrepoint pointed to the 29% rise in young rough sleepers as hugely worrying.
We know there are thousands more young people who are hidden homeless
Balbir Chatrick, Centrepoint’s Director of Policy, said: “These figures are shocking, but they only attempt to count the number of people sleeping rough on one night.
“We know there are thousands more young people who are hidden homeless – sofa-surfing for months on end, sleeping on public transport, or staying with strangers just to find a bed for the night.
“If the government is serious about breaking the cycle of homelessness it must start by measuring the problem properly and then providing adequate funding to solve it.”
The government has vowed to halve rough sleeping by 2022, and completely eradicate rough sleeping by 2027. And, 15 months ago, Theresa May used the occasion of The Big Issue’s 25th anniversary to announce “a new £40 million package to both prevent and tackle the causes of homelessness.”
Commenting on the latest statistics, an MHCLG spokesperson said: “No one should ever have to sleep rough. That’s why this Government is committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027.
“To break the homelessness cycle once and for all, we are providing over £1 billion of funding, supporting rough sleepers with the most complex needs through a new Housing First approach and bringing in the most ambitious legislation in decades that will mean people get the support they need earlier.
“In addition a new cross-Government taskforce supported by a panel of experts will drive forward a new strategy that will make life on the streets a thing of the past.”
However, these latest figures show that more needs to be done.
And Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey was quick to condemn the government’s continued failure to quell the rise in rough sleeping.
