Main Causes of Rough Sleeping Increase

• Housing affordability crisis: Rising rents, a shrinking and unaffordable private rental sector, and a shortage of social and supported housing.
• End of pandemic-related support and financial strain on local authorities: Emergency accommodation funding stopped, limiting local authorities’ ability to house people sleeping rough. Councils are facing substantial funding gaps and are having to overspend on temporary accommodation.
• Increased complexity of needs: Mental health, substance use, and physical health issues are prevalent among rough sleepers, but funding for support services is lacking.

Policy Recommendations

• Housing and Rough Sleeping Services
  • Increase social rented housing and supported housing supply.
  • Guarantee emergency accommodation for those at risk of rough sleeping.
• Health and Social Care
  • Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) should prioritise tackling health inequalities among homeless individuals, with funding to support.
  • Expand trauma-informed care and holistic support models.
• Women-Specific Housing Solutions
  • Introduce a gender-informed homelessness pathway and expand women-only accommodation.
• Support for Non-UK Nationals
  • The new homelessness strategy should give clarity and reassurance that funding streams alternative to Housing Benefit can be used to provide accommodation, legal advice and trauma-informed support for non-UK nationals with limited entitlements.
• Data Collection and Policy Monitoring
  • Improve hidden homelessness data collection by making the women’s rough sleeping census an annual requirement.