Westminster has been named the rough sleeping capital of England, with shocking new figures revealing a 40% surge in homelessness in the borough over the past year. The stark statistics come amid a wider crisis in London, where rough sleeping has risen 16% across the city, sparking calls for urgent government action.
Alarming rise in rough sleeping
According to new estimates, 388 people were found sleeping rough in Westminster on a single night in August 2023, the highest number recorded in any local authority area in England. The figure marks a significant increase from the 277 rough sleepers recorded in the borough the previous year.
Other central London boroughs also saw high numbers of people sleeping on the streets, with Camden recording 132 rough sleepers and the City of London reporting 86.
Across London as a whole, 1,138 people were found rough sleeping on a single night—an increase of 16% compared to the previous year’s total. Nationally, the picture is even more bleak, with a 20% rise in rough sleeping across England, bringing the total to 4,667 people.
This marks the third consecutive year that rough sleeping figures have increased, with campaigners branding the situation “devastating and shameful”.
Homelessness crisis worsens
While the latest figures are slightly below the record high of 4,751 rough sleepers recorded in 2017, the long-term trend remains deeply concerning. The crisis is further compounded by a record high in the number of households and children living in temporary accommodation, highlighting the growing strain on housing and social services.
Figures released on Thursday showed that as of September 2023, 164,040 children were living in temporary accommodation across England—a 15% increase in just one year. This is the highest level since records began in 2004.
Calls for urgent action
The worsening homelessness crisis has prompted renewed demands for urgent government intervention. Earlier this week, the Government announced it was doubling emergency homelessness funding for councils in England, increasing the budget to £60 million.
However, charities and housing organisations argue that this short-term funding boost falls far short of what is needed to tackle the root causes of homelessness.
Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, called the figures “beyond devastating and shameful”, and urged a wholesale review and reset of homelessness funding.
“Our society has allowed thousands upon thousands of people to face the trauma of sleeping rough across this country,” he said.
He blamed the crisis on an unfit welfare system, a severe lack of truly affordable housing, overstretched homelessness services, and a disconnect between government policies—citing examples such as hospitals and prisons discharging people onto the streets, and asylum seekers being left homeless after leaving the system.
Political and public reaction
Big Issue founder and crossbench peer Lord John Bird described the rise in rough sleeping as “simply unacceptable”, calling it “our nation’s biggest source of shame”.
He acknowledged that increased emergency funding was welcome but warned that “it must not be mistaken for a solution to this crisis”. Instead, he called for long-term investment, innovative thinking, and large-scale collaboration between government agencies, councils, and charities.
Meanwhile, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that recent changes in government funding allocations have left councils with £76 million less to spend on temporary accommodation than they had last year.
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Adam Hug, the LGA’s housing spokesman, said the government’s shift towards prevention and relief funding was necessary but warned that the sudden reallocation of funds had placed additional pressure on councils at a time when temporary accommodation costs were soaring.
“An uprating of the temporary accommodation subsidy is desperately needed to address the significant and growing cost pressures faced by councils,” he said.
A crisis that requires long-term solutions
As homelessness rates continue to rise, housing experts and charities warn that the UK government must go beyond emergency funding and address the structural issues fuelling the crisis. These include:
- Expanding the supply of truly affordable housing
- Strengthening tenants’ rights and protections
- Reforming the benefits system to prevent people from falling into homelessness
- Improving mental health and addiction support services
- Ensuring that no one is discharged from hospitals, prisons, or the asylum system into homelessness
Without significant intervention, experts fear the UK will see another record-breaking year for homelessness in 2024, with Westminster and other London boroughs once again at the centre of the crisis.
