Grim new figures show the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough in England has risen by over a quarter in just a year.
In a damning verdict of the Tories' 13 years in office, the shocking official statistics also show a 74% increase since 2010.
Every year the Government provides a snapshot of the numbers sleeping rough on a single night in Autumn and it is used to track national and local trends.
This year’s count was conducted in November 2022 and shows the first increase since a peak was recorded in 2017.
It estimated there were 3,069 people sleeping rough on a single night - a 26% increase on the previous year, as the cost-of-living crisis took hold.
Rough sleeping has also increased by 74% compared with 2010 when the annual count was first introduced by the Government.
At the 2019 general election the Conservative Party pledged to "end the blight of rough sleeping" by the end of the current Parliament.
But the charity Crisis said the figures released today by the Department for Levelling Up shows Rishi Sunak will fail to meet the commitment.
The Government said rough sleeping has increased in every region of England compared to 2021 - but stressed it has been driven by a small number of areas.
The largest increase was in London where the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough on any given night was 858 - a 34% increase on 2021.
In the South East and the West Midlands the number shot up by 29% while the North West and South West recorded a 24% increase.
The smallest increase was recorded in Yorkshire and the Humber where figures increased from 166 people sleeping rough to 170 - a 2% rise.
Rick Henderson, chief executive at Homeless Link, said the rise of more than a quarter year-on-year across the whole of England since 2021 "is evidence of how the cost-of-living crisis has exacerbated long-standing drivers of homelessness".
"Everyone deserves a safe place to live and the support they need to keep it".
He added: "This shocking rise in the number of people sleeping rough represents a massive, collective failure.
"People are being let down by systems that should protect them, forced onto the streets at the expense of their physical and mental health."
"At the same time continuing financial pressures mean hundreds of homelessness services across the country are on the brink of closing down, risking leaving people experiencing homelessness with nowhere to turn."
He urged the Government to take "urgent action to keep homelessness services open" by increasing funding in line with inflation.
Matt Downie, the Chief Executive of homelessness charity Crisis, said: "The fact that homelessness is once again on the rise frankly shames our society and if alarm bells weren't ringing across Government they should now."
He added: “Not only that, with almost 100,000 households stuck in temporary accommodation, many having been evicted from their homes, we’re on an extremely dangerous course."
Labour's Shadow Homelessness & Rough Sleeping minister Paula Baker said: "Despite Government promise to eradicate rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament, the numbers of people sleeping rough is going up yet again.
"The Government cannot stand idly by while a toxic mix of rising rents, the cost of living crisis and a failure to end no-fault evictions hit vulnerable people.
"Labour would immediately ban Section 21 evictions and stabilise the economy to support families struggling to make ends meet."
