Industry News
Big fall in number of vulnerable people sleeping rough is linked to Government initiative
vulnerable people sleeping rough on the country’s streets. New analysis (which was independently peer
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reviewed by Bryson Purdon Social Research, an independent research partnership) found the numbers of people sleeping rough is around a third lower than predicted if the initiative had not been in place. The Rough Sleeping Initiative – a cornerstone of
the Government’s ambitious Rough Sleeping Strategy – has provided £76 million to 246 councils across the country to date, supporting rough sleepers in their area off the streets and into secure accommodation where they can get the help they need to rebuild their lives. The report published in mid September showed
that the initiative has reduced the number of vulnerable people sleeping rough by 32 per cent, compared to the number it would have been had the initiative not been in place. The analysis estimates the impact of the initiative
from its launch in March 2018 until autumn that year and takes account of a range of factors, including whether councils submitted estimates or counts in the official annual rough sleeping statistics, the weather on the night the data was collected, and local housing and labour market conditions, to zero in on the effects of the initiative. Welcoming the findings, Communities Secretary
Robert Jenrick said: “Since becoming Communities Secretary, I have been able to see first-hand the outstanding work taking place under the Rough Sleeping Initiative every single day to transform the lives of society’s most vulnerable – and these
figures are proof that our strategy to end rough sleeping is working. “But we must keep that momentum up, which is
why we have committed a record investment to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in the months ahead – ensuring progress continues to be made and people are given the help they need to turn their lives around. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently
announced £422 million of funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping – up £54 million from £368 million in 2019 to 2020. The Communities Secretary and the
Chancellor have also announced a further £10 million to boost life-saving support for rough sleepers during the cold winter weather and has called on councils to come forward and bid for the funding now in order to step-up
preparations in time for the winter months. Last year, funding provided by Government
during the coldest weather meant thousands of vulnerable rough sleepers spent the night in safe and warm accommodation, rather than on the streets. In August last year, the Government unveiled its
Rough Sleeping Strategy – backed by £100 million – which sets out the next steps towards ending rough sleeping for good. In order to reach as many rough sleepers as
possible, £1 million of the Cold Weather Fund will be available to providers and services that are not commissioned by local authorities. This element of the fund will be administered by Homeless Link, who will ensure interventions are effective in supporting as many people as possible off the streets.
he Government is claiming it’s Rough Sleeping Initiative is having a significant impact on reducing the numbers of
Number of homeless deaths at highest level
A record number of homeless people died last year on the streets or in emergency shelters and hostels according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics. An estimated 726 homeless people died in
England and Wales in 2018, up from 597 deaths in the previous year. Data on the deaths of homeless people has only been collected and reported on centrally since 2013, when the figure was 482. Most of the deaths in 2018 were among men,
accounting for 641 of the estimated deaths and 88 per cent of the total. The average age at death was 45 years for men and 43 for women, both figures are well below those for the general population, which is 76 years (for men) and 81 years (for women). Two in five deaths of homeless people were
related to drug poisoning in 2018 (294 estimated deaths), and the number of deaths from this cause has increased by 55 per cent since 2017. London and the north-west had the highest
numbers of deaths in 2018, with 148 (20 per cent) and 103 (14 per cent) estimated deaths of homeless people respectively. Cities and large urban areas dominated the list of places recording most deaths, with Birmingham accounting for 23 deaths, Newcastle with 20, Manchester 19, Bristol 17 and Liverpool for 16. Jon Sparkes, from the charity Crisis, said it was
12 | HMM October/November 2019 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
"heart-breaking" that people were dying homeless. "It's crucial that governments urgently expand the safeguarding system used to investigate the deaths of vulnerable adults to include everyone who has died while street homeless so we can help prevent more people from dying needlessly." Polly Neate, from the housing charity Shelter,
said: "You can't solve homelessness without homes, so we are calling on all parties to commit to building the social homes we need to form the bedrock of a more humane housing system." A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing,
Communities and Local Government said the figures were a "sombre reminder" there was "still much more to do to tackle homelessness and end rough sleeping for good". He added that the Government was spending £1.2bn to tackle all forms of homelessness.
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