HC Deb 19 May 1999 vol 331 cc355-61W
Ms Moran

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people are sleeping rough in England. [85035]

Ms Armstrong

We estimate that, as at June 1998, there were 1,850 people sleeping rough in England on any single night, including 621 in Greater London.

These figures are the first detailed estimate of rough sleeping in England. They have been calculated on a basis agreed with the voluntary sector, using local authority data from local street counts and estimates provided by local authorities. Full details are given in the table, which includes the results of street counts in every area which has made such a count and (where no count has been made) all estimates above the lowest estimate band of 0–10. Numbers are shown in descending size order, by count and then estimate.

The most robust information available is provided by local single night street counts. In 1996 DETR issued guidance to all local authorities on how to undertake street counts, based on a standard methodology developed in conjunction with Shelter and other voluntary groups. As well as encouraging all authorities to consider the need for counts, the Department has actively pursued this approach in all areas where information suggests there may be a significant number of rough sleepers (ie at least 10 on any single night). As a result of DETR and voluntary sector efforts, counts have been undertaken in 93 local authorities across England since 1996; another 4 authorities undertook counts in 1995 before the guidance was issued. Further information on rough sleeping in other areas is available from the estimates of the number of people sleeping rough on a single night supplied by local authorities annually since 1996 as part of my Department's Housing Investment Programme (HIP); the most recent figures available relate to June 1998.

The methodology for producing a national estimate of numbers sleeping rough involves aggregating figures for individual local authority districts to generate a total for England. Wherever street counts have been conducted these data are used, and they are supplemented by figures derived from local authority HIP estimates in all other areas. As HIP estimates are provided within bands rather than as single figures (eg 0 to 10, 11 to 20 etc), these are converted into a single figure by assuming that the lowest point within the band is the most representative figure; this assumption is justified by clear DETR experience that local authorities almost invariably overestimate the scale of rough sleeping in their district until they undertake a street count,

The national estimate of 1,850 thus arrived at provides the best possible indication currently available of the scale of rough sleeping. However, the accuracy of the estimate is reliant on the quality of the information reported to DETR by individual local authorities. The Department will continue to seek to improve the quality of information on rough sleeping by encouraging all local authorities to estimate the numbers of rough sleepers in their area; by investigating any claims by local agencies that they have evidence of a local problem that does not show up in the HIP estimates; and by encouraging areas where there is a known rough sleeping problem to undertake street counts at appropriate intervals as shown, depending on the size of the counted local rough sleeping population:

  1. (a) Areas with substantial numbers of rough sleepers (20 or more)—At least two street counts a year;
  2. (b) Areas with significant numbers (between 10 and 19)—At least one street count a year;
  3. (c) Areas with low numbers (under 10) or no rough sleepers—Local authorities to report estimates through the HIP returns, and DETR to ensure that street counts are undertaken in some areas to spot check the validity of estimates, especially in areas which had previously recorded a significant problem.

This approach should provide the basis for discerning trends in the numbers of rough sleepers over time, and thus for measuring the success of action to tackle the problem of rough sleeping. However, DETR will, in conjunction with the voluntary sector, continue to encourage the 32 local authorities who have estimated a significant local rough sleeping population but not yet undertaken a street count to undertake a count to generate more robust information on the scale of the local problem and to improve the quality of the national estimate. DETR will also encourage the 69 local authorities who have neither carried out a count nor provided a HIP estimate to produce better information on the numbers of people sleeping rough in their area.

Estimate of the number of people sleeping rough in England in descending order of size—June 1998
Street count June 1998 estimate
Local authority district County Region 1998 HIP estimate Date Number Source Number
Street Counts
Westminster Inner London L 51+ June 1998 237 Count 237
Camden Inner London L 51+ June 1998 59 Count 59
Birmingham West Midlands WM 51+ November 1997 56 Count 56
Brighton and Hove East Sussex SE 51+ June 1996 44 Count 44
Bournemouth Dorset SW 41-50 August 1997 44 Count 44
Bristol Avon SW 41-50 June 1998 42 Count 42
City of London Inner London L 41-50 June 1998 41 Count 41
Oxford Oxfordshire SE 41-50 July 1996 39 Count 39
Tower Hamlets Inner London L 51+ June 1998 31 Count 31
Manchester Greater Manchester NW 51+ July 1996 31 Count 31
Cambridge Cambridgeshire E 31-40 July 1997 30 Count 30
Brent Outer London L 21-30 October 1997 29 Count 29
Exeter Devon SW 41-50 July 1997 27 Count 27
Croydon Outer London L 21-30 October 1997 25 Count 25
Ealing Outer London L 41-50 July 1996 24 Count 24
Kensington and Chelsea Inner London L 21-30 April 1998 23 Count 23
Southampton Hampshire SE 21-30 June 1998 22 Count 22
Portsmouth Hampshire SE 11-20 October 1997 21 Count 21
Leicester Leicestershire EM 21-30 June 1996 20 Count 20
Lambeth Inner London L 11-20 April 1998 20 Count 20
Hounslow Outer London L No estimate April 1998 20 Count 20
Worcester Hereford and Worcester WM 11-20 1995 20 Count 20
Stoke-on-Trent Staffordshire WM 21-30 November 1997 20 Count 20
Norwich Norfolk E 21-30 October 1997 19 Count 19
Liverpool Merseyside NW 11-20 March 1998 17 Count 17
Penwith Cornwall SW 11-20 April 1998 17 Count 17
Swindon Wiltshire SW 11-20 December 1997 17 Count 17
Gloucester Gloucestershire SW 11-20 November 1997 16 Count 16
Blackpool Lancashire NW 11-20 July 1997 15 Count 15
Sheffield South Yorkshire YH 21-30 April 1997 15 Count 15
Nottingham Nottinghamshire EM 41-50 July 1996 14 Count 14
Northampton Northamptonshire EM 11-20 September 1997 13 Count 13
Great Yarmouth Norfolk E 11-20 November 1997 13 Count 13
Islington Inner London L 11-20 November 1997 13 Count 13
Reading Berkshire SE 11-20 November 1997 13 Count 13
Fareham Hampshire SE 11-20 February 1998 13 Count 13
Plymouth Devon SW 11-20 October 1997 13 Count 13
Richmond upon Thames Outer London L 31-40 July 1996 12 Count 12
Bury Greater Manchester NW 11-20 January 1998 12 Count 12
Slough Berkshire SE 11-20 December 1997 12 Count 12
Bath and North East Somerset Avon SW 11-20 July 1996 12 Count 12
York North Yorkshire YH 11-20 March 1998 12 Count 12
Hammersmith and Fulham Inner London L 21-30 April 1998 11 Count 11
Canterbury Kent SE 11-20 June 1996 11 Count 11
Restormel Cornwall SW 11-20 March 1998 10 Count 10
Mid Devon Devon SW 0-10 October 1997 9 Count 9
Haringey Inner London L 41-50 February 1998 8 Count 8
Guildford Surrey SE 11-20 November 1997 8 Count 8
Doncaster South Yorkshire YH 11-20 September 1998 8 Count 8
Leeds West Yorkshire YH 11-20 October 1997 8 Count 8
Wakefield West Yorkshire YH 0-10 February 1996 8 Count 8
Ipswich Suffolk E 0-10 December 1997 7 Count 7
Woking Surrey SE 11-20 October 1997 7 Count 7
East Hertfordshire Hertfordshire E 21-30 March 1998 6 Count 6
Hackney Inner London L 0-10 November 1997 6 Count 6
Waltham Forest Outer London L 21-30 December 1997 6 Count 6
Wyre Lancashire NW 0-10 September 1997 6 Count 6
Luton Bedfordshire E 0-10 December 1997 5 Count 5

We will in future publish estimates of the total number of people sleeping rough in England twice a year, showing the position each June and December. To help put this information in context, we will also monitor the number of new rough sleepers coming onto the streets over time, and record the achievements of Government-funded activity in terms of work by voluntary sector agencies to prevent rough sleeping and help people to move off the streets.

Estimate of the number of people sleeping rough in England in descending order of size—June 1998
Street count June 1998 estimate
Local authority district County Region 1998 HIP estimate Date Number Source Number
Basingstoke and Deane Hampshire SE 0-10 February 1998 5 Count 5
Worthing West Sussex SE 0-10 October 1997 5 Count 5
Poole Dorset SW 0-10 October 1997 4 Count 4
St. Albans Hertfordshire E 0-10 June 1998 3 Count 3
Oldham Greater Manchester NW 0-10 July 1995 3 Count 3
Windsor and Maidenhead Berkshire SE 0-10 November 1997 3 Count 3
Shepway Kent SE 0-10 July 1996 3 Count 3
Caradon Cornwall SW 0-10 April 1998 3 Count 3
Carrick Cornwall SW 0-10 April 1998 3 Count 3
Kerrier Cornwall SW 0-10 March 1998 3 Count 3
Weymouth and Portland Dorset SW 0-10 May 1997 3 Count 3
Warwick Warwickshire WM 0-10 September 1997 3 Count 3
Derby Derbyshire EM 0-10 October 1997 2 Count 2
Peterborough Cambridgeshire E 0-10 June 1997 2 Count 2
Barnet Outer London L 21-30 July 1996 2 Count 2
Newcastle upon Tyne Tyne and Wear NE 0-10 March 1998 2 Count 2
Wycombe Buckinghamshire SE 0-10 November 1997 2 Count 2
Bradford West Yorkshire YH 11-20 September 1997 2 Count 2
Mid Bedfordshire Bedfordshire E 0-10 December 1997 1 Count 1
Bromley Outer London L 0-10 October 1996 1 Count 1
South Tyneside Tyne and Wear NE 0-10 June 1998 1 Count 1
Tameside Greater Manchester NW 0-10 February 1998 1 Count 1
North Somerset Avon SW 11-20 December 1997 1 Count 1
Cheltenham Gloucestershire SW 0-10 December 1997 1 Count 1
Taunton Deane Somerset SW 0-10 May 1997 1 Count 1
Harrogate North Yorkshire YH 0-10 March 1998 1 Count 1
Colchester Essex E 0-10 December 1997 0 Count 0
Southend-on-Sea Essex E 0-10 1996 0 Count 0
Harrow Outer London L 0-10 November 1995 0 Count 0
Kingston upon Thames Outer London L 0-10 November 1997 0 Count 0
Sunderland Tyne and Wear NE 0-10 February 1998 0 Count 0
Burnley Lancashire NW 0-10 October 1997 0 Count 0
Reigate and Banstead Surrey SE 0-10 September 1995 0 Count 0
North Cornwall Cornwall SW 0-10 March 1998 0 Count 0
Redditch Hereford and Worcester WM 0-10 March 1998 0 Count 0
Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire WM 0-10 November 1997 0 Count 0
Kingston upon Hull Humberside YH 0-10 November 1997 0 Count 0
Hambleton North Yorkshire YH 0-10 June 1997 0 Count 0
Barnsley South Yorkshire YH 0-10 May 1998 0 Count 0
Sub total from street counts 1,378
HIP estimates
Southwark Inner London L 31-40 — — Estimate 31
Torbay Devon SW 31-40 — — Estimate 31
East Lindsey Lincolnshire EM 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Mansfield Nottinghamshire EM 21-30 — — Estimate 21
North Hertfordshire Hertfordshire E 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Chester Cheshire NW 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Lancaster Lancashire NW 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Sefton Merseyside NW 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Maidstone Kent SE 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Epsom and Ewell Surrey SE 21-30 — — Estimate 21
Bedford Bedfordshire E 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Castle Point Essex E 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Uttlesford Essex E 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Newham Inner London L 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Greenwich Outer London L 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Tynedale Northumberland NE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Bolton Greater Manchester NW 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Wigan Greater Manchester NW 11-20 — — Estimate 11
St. Helens Merseyside NW 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Newbury Berkshire SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Aylesbury Vale Buckinghamshire SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Eastbourne East Sussex SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Rother East Sussex SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Tonbridge and Mailing Kent SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Elmbridge Surrey SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Runnymede Surrey SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Horsham West Sussex SE 11-20 — — Estimate 11

Estimate of the number of people sleeping rough in England in descending order of size—June 1998
Street count June 1998 estimate
Local authority district County Region 1998 HIP estimate Date Number Source Number
West Dorset Dorset SW 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Sedgemoor Somerset SW 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Salisbury Wiltshire SW 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Rotherham South Yorkshire YH 11-20 — — Estimate 11
Subtotal from HIP estimates 472
England total 1,850

Note:

A zero estimate has been included for all other local authorities, including 156 which provided a HIP estimate of 0–10, and 69 which did not make a HIP estimate

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