Record numbers of people were sleeping rough on the streets of London before the coronavirus lockdown, figures show.
According to the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain), 10, 726 people spent a night without shelter between April 2019 and March 2020, a 21% increase on the previous year and a 170% increase since 2010.
Campaigners said the figures were a wake-up call to ministers, amid fears that the economic crisis and the winding down of additional support for homeless people during the pandemic could lead to a resurgence of rough sleeping.
Two-thirds of rough sleepers last year were new to the streets, according to the figures, and 38% of those found rough sleeping reported that their last settled home was in the private rented sector.
The boroughs with the most rough sleepers were Westminster (2,757), Newham (724) and Camden (639). There were 183 people recorded as sleeping rough on night buses and five on the tube.
The overall year-on-year increase of 21% was the biggest since 2011, and is thought to partly reflect an increase in the number of homelesssness outreach staff and services working in the capital following boosts in investment in 2018-19.
The mayor, Sadiq Khan, said City Hall, boroughs and charities had put up 5,000 rough sleepers in hotels and hostels during lockdown, and around 2,000 of these people had now moved into long-term accommodation.
A spokesperson said: “Today’s report is a stark reminder of the monumental task facing us all as we strive to reduce the number of people sleeping rough on the streets of London and to help those who have become homeless.
“We have made progress, with 73% of people seen sleeping rough not spending a second night on the street. But the last decade has seen a steady increase in homelessness as cuts to welfare and local services have taken their toll, and we now face the huge additional challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of the charity Crisis, said: “These figures reveal that pre-pandemic we were seeing record levels of people sleeping rough in the capital. Not only is this deeply alarming, but it shows just how dire the underlying situation was even before the coronavirus outbreak.
“While government action in the early weeks of the pandemic to get ‘everyone in’ was a success and undoubtedly saved lives, the winding down of that commitment is seeing a resurgence in the number of people sleeping on our streets. With the eviction ban coming to an end and expectations of mass unemployment, tens of thousands could be pushed into homelessness.
“Government must heed this wake-up call. With coronavirus cases rising, lives are at risk. As the cold winter months approach, we simply can’t see thousands of people sleeping rough, nor can we rely on crowded emergency night shelters where the risk of transmission is incredibly high.”
Steve Douglas, the chief executive of St Mungo’s, said despite welcome investment in rough sleeping initiatives by central and local government, the figures showed the crisis was not over for rough sleepers.
“As the winter months approach, we reach the end of the furlough scheme and austerity begins to bite, we must do all we can to stem the potential increased flow of those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, from ending up sleeping rough,” he said.
