2021 England Street Homelessness Snapshot published

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has published the annual rough sleeping snapshot. 

The snapshot estimates the number of people sleeping rough on a single night between 1 October and 30 November. This involves physical count-based estimates on the number of people visibly ‘sleeping rough’, verified by @HomelessLink. For the snapshot, ‘sleeping rough’ is defined as “those sleeping or about to bed down in open air locations and other places including tents, stairwells, car parks and makeshift shelters”. Therefore, it is essential to note that many people who are experiencing homelessness will be excluded from this estimate, including people in hostels and shelters or sofa surfing. However, this being said, the snapshot is a vital tool in assessing changes over time. 

Main findings:

• The number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn has declined for the fourth year in a row from its peak in 2017 (after substantially increasing between 2010 and 2017)
• The snapshot overall remains higher than in 2010 when the snapshot approach was introduced
• Rough sleeping decreased in every region of England compared to the previous year
• The largest decrease in the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough was in London, where there were 640 people this year compared to 710 people last year.
• Nearly half of all people sleeping rough were in London and the South East
• In terms of demographic data, it is reported that most people sleeping rough in England were male, aged over 26 years old and from the UK. This shows similar trends to previous years.

Rachael Williamson, head of policy and external affairs at CIH, said:

“The continuing decline of the numbers of people sleeping rough is very positive and shows just what can be achieved with concerted action. Now Government must build on this with a joined-up and well-resourced strategy to tackle homelessness in all its forms, particularly as their target of ending rough sleeping by 2024 is fast approaching. This is truly urgent given the rising cost of living crisis and private sector evictions rising again. Long-term investment in prevention is the way to end homelessness for good, ensuring everyone has a place to call home and the support they need to keep it. Tackling the shortage of genuinely affordable housing and addressing a welfare system that does not properly support people on low incomes to meet their housing costs must be key elements in this.”