Location: Central London, UK

Date: 31 August 2023

London’s homelessness is on the rise, yet thousands of properties in London lie empty!

Does London have a homeless problem?

Homeless people are some of the most vulnerable and socially excluded people in our society. 10,053 were seen rough sleeping by outreach workers in London between April 2022 and March 2023. This figure is nearly 4 times what it was in 2005 and has increased by more than 20% in the last year alone.

How many homeless does London have?

The most recent annual count showed 13,325 rough sleepers spotted on London's streets between April 2022 and June 2023. A total of 3,272 people were counted between April and June 2023 for the most recent quarterly update, representing a rise of more than 10% on the previous year.17 Aug 2023

Info below is from bigissue.com

How many people are homeless?

New government data estimates 2,447 people were sleeping rough on a single night in March 2023. While down on the official snapshot, the figure still represents a rise of 342 people since December 2022, and an increase of 641 people since the same time in 2022.
The majority of people sleeping rough in England are male, aged over 26 years old and from the UK. Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics found men who are living on the street outnumber women at a ratio of six to one.
The London-only Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) figures are considered to be more accurate than the official one-night count. The most recent annual count showed 13,325 rough sleepers spotted on London’s streets between April 2022 and June 2023. A total of 3,272 people were counted between April and June 2023 for the most recent quarterly update, representing a rise of more than 10% on the previous year.
The annual increase was driven by a 26% surge in the number of people spotted on the streets for the first time. A total of 6,391 people were considered new to the streets, up 26% on the 5,091 people in the same situation a year previously.
In Wales, the official rough sleeping count was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then official management statistics have taken its place. The most recent count showed 126 people were sleeping rough across the country as of April 2023.
Scotland doesn’t use the same method as England and Wales. The most recent statistics showed 1,184 people who applied for council homelessness support between April and September 2022 reported sleeping rough during the previous three months. Meanwhile, 733 applicants reported being street homeless the night before they applied.
Women are often missing from rough sleeping counts because they tend to be less visible than male rough sleepers due to the risk of violence on the streets. That means women are more likely to seek shelter in cafes, transport hubs or other places rather than bedding down outside.
A coalition of homelessness and women’s organisations in London joined forces to tackle the issue in October 2022. The resulting women’s rough sleeping census found 154 women, including trans and non-binary women, sleeping rough in London in a week.
That number was higher than previously thought with an extra 71 women found across 13 London boroughs when the data was compared to the latest official rough sleeping count. Organisers believed the number could be even higher.
As for wider homelessness in England, English councils helped more than 278,000 households to prevent or relieve homelessness between April 2021 and March 2022. That’s 16% higher than the previous year but 9% down on pre-Covid levels.
However, English councils have received calls for help with homelessness from over 80,000 households in the January to March period of this year – the highest number since these records began in 2018.
In Wales, the official rough sleeping count was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, official monthly management statistics have taken its place. The most recent count showed 154 people were sleeping rough across the country as of May 2023. 10,872 individuals were also reported to be in temporary accommodation during May 2023.
Scotland’s latest official statistics revealed that 15,414 households were assessed as homeless between April and September 2022. That is a 6% increase on the same period last year and up to a similar level as before the pandemic. Overall there are 28,944 households with open applications for support with homelessness – 11% higher than the same period in 2021 and the highest number on record.

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