§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how much has been spent to deal with problems of rough sleepers in each of the past five years in(a) England, (b) London and (c) Bristol; and what estimate he has made of the total numbers of rough sleepers in each location for each of those years. [49183]
§ Mr. RaynsfordThe first two phases of the Rough Sleepers Initiative (1990–93 and 1993–96) were focused entirely on central London where the problem of rough sleeping was at its most acute. During that time, the Government provided £182 million to help rough sleepers in the capital to start a new life away from the streets. Under the third phase of the RSI (1996–99) a further £73 million has been provided and help has been extended to cover new areas in London as well as 27 other areas482W including Bristol. Of the total resources available up to the end of March 1999, around £8 million will have been spent under the RSI on dealing with rough sleeping in Bristol.
No figures are available for the total numbers of rough sleepers in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Bristol for each of the last five years. This is because rough sleeping is a fluid rather than a static problem and the number of individuals sleeping rough will be different each night. In four main areas of central London, outreach work by voluntary organisations in 1996–97, identified 2,381 individuals who slept rough at some time during the course of that year. No such detailed information exists for other areas, although Shelter have estimated that around 2,000 people may be sleeping rough on any one night throughout England. The most recent single night survey of people sleeping in areas of central London surveyed since 1992 found 282 people sleeping rough, down from estimates of more than 1,000 before the Initiative began. In Bristol, the most recent single night count for which figures have been published found 32 people sleeping rough.
The Social Exclusion Unit have today published their report to the Prime Minister on Rough Sleeping which sets the tough target of reducing the level of rough sleeping by two thirds by 2002.