The number of people recorded as sleeping rough in London for the first time has risen by 50% on the previous year, new Greater London Authority (GLA) figures have revealed.
Of the 3,985 individuals recorded as sleeping rough in the capital in the second quarter of 2018/19, 2,069 (51%) were sleeping rough for the first time, a 50% increase on the same period in 2017/18 when 1,382 new rough sleepers were recorded.
The total number of people sleeping rough is also 28% higher than the 3,103 individuals recorded in London in 2017/18.
The figures are based on the GLA-commissioned Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) database, which is managed by homelessness charity St Mungo’s.
The number of people living on the streets in London has also risen 29%, from 340 in the second quarter of 2017/18 to 438 in 2018/19.
The majority of the rough sleepers recorded (52%) were non-UK nationals, while 18% of those recorded as sleeping rough in this quarter were women.
Last year the government launched a new £100m rough sleeping strategy, designed to help the government meet its aim of ending rough sleeping by 2027.
Last week, mayor of London Sadiq Khan claimed that Londoners were being “driven onto the streets” by changes to the welfare system such as the Local Housing Allowance freeze.
Howard Sinclair, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said: “There is a rough sleeping crisis on our streets – not just in London, but across the country. This is a national scandal.
“Around half are non-UK nationals and are unlikely to have access to benefits, housing or healthcare so are left desperate and destitute.
“We also know more people are dying whilst homeless and that council funding cuts and welfare reform have reduced the help available for people in this desperate situation.
“This is down to the failure of successive governments to tackle the systemic causes of homelessness.”
Source: insidehousing
