A report by the Kerslake Commission on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping has found that the UK government would have to spend an additional £82 million per year to end rough sleeping in England by 2024. The funds would help maintain the pandemic-era Everyone In scheme that extended housing help to a larger group of people during COVID-19 outbreaks, the commission said today.
Numbers by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government show that rough sleeping in England has decreased after 2017, reaching a high of 4,751 rough sleepers on a single night that year. In 2019, the estimated number stood at 4,266 rough sleepers, while the pandemic-era count was much lower at just 2,688. This could be because of the new scheme - premiered in March 2020 - was working or because the pandemic did not allow for a more accurate count.
More than a quarter of the country's rough sleepers are in London, followed by Southern England. The cities most affected after London are Manchester and Bristol. Rough sleeping in London and South East England decreased most during the pandemic.
