ROUGH SLEEPING IN LONDON: WHY IS IT RISING SO FAST?

Kaveh K, Year 11 writes...

This year saw a 21% increase in the number of rough sleepers: one of the highest rises ever recorded. Data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain), a database cataloguing rough sleepers in London, showed that more than 3,500 people were sleeping rough on the streets of the capital this year.

Why? A combination of rising rent in London, the cost-ofliving crisis, and authorities’ struggle to aid rough sleepers, has all helped fuel a loss of the “hard-won” progress achieved in recent years, according to support organisations. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has warned of a rough sleeping “crisis,” despite outreach teams working at their full capacity.

More detailed analysis into Camden, for example, shows that, whilst most recorded rough sleepers are British, second is Albanian. Many who flee persecution in Albania receive little to no support in the UK, often being exploited in the black economy due to many not being able to receive support checks because of their immigration status (known legally as “No recourse to public funds”).

With rising rent costs - according to Rightmove, there has been a 16% rise in rent for London properties - and increasing costs for basic needs, it is increasingly difficult for those migrating to the UK seeking refuge to integrate into society. Camden is one of the few boroughs where, since 2011, the proportion of those living in the social rented sector increased (ie council estates), despite the national average being an overall decrease, and employment for 16+ year olds fell by 3%. All of this has contributed to Camden having one of the greatest increases in rough sleeping across the UK.

Camden, however, is nowhere near the worst local authority for rough sleeping that is, rather aptly, Westminster.

Since at least 19991, and with records as far back as 19722, Westminster has consistently ranked as the London borough with the greatest number of rough sleepers, sometimes being first by three times the amount of the next borough – usually Camden. Homelessness charity Crisis, one of Wetherby Senior’s three designated charities, lambasted the government in a recent statement, claiming that the climbing homelessness rate (which encompasses rough sleeping) “shames” society and that “if alarms bells weren’t ringing across Government, they should be now”. According to the latest data, Westminster’s homelessness count was more than double that of Camden, and still more than the next three in the list combined.

It was hardly surprising then, that when prospective Cities of London & Westminster MP Rachel Blake visited Wetherby Senior to talk about her initiatives, her primary concern was that of the availability and affordability of housing in Westminster - in dire condition and one of the key reasons for the high rough sleeping rate. In its (recently expired) Rough Sleeping Strategy,

Westminster blamed its location as the “capital of the capital” for its high rough sleeping rate and the standard of services it provides. Whilst this may be true to an extent, there is still clearly something that isn’t working if the rough sleeping rate is so much higher than other authorities. Camden, for example, could easily get away with blaming a similar factor.

However, it is indisputable that Westminster’s rough sleeping problem has been exacerbated by the many issues faced in recent years. A pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, and near recession have meant that funding for schemes to help combat rough sleeping, as well as many other key issues, has been cut, and outreach teams are struggling with less resources to help the ever-growing backlog of cases they need to file. Rough sleeping is an issue with a large amount of political tension as well, with one of the key policies in the 2019 Conservative manifesto being to “end the blight of rough sleeping” nationally. This is not a simple problem and will require the coordinated support of consecutive governments to solve.

So, what can you do to help? Our charity for this year’s sponsored spin is West London Mission, who seek to provide opportunities for those who are homeless, as well as other groups. For DofE, you could choose to volunteer at support charities like Crisis or WLM, to aid their efforts. Even then, this remains an issue to solved by the initiatives of central government, and hopefully schemes such as the No Second Night Out (NSNO) model can be further supported in the future.

1 Salman, S. (1999, April 7). Three-year plan targets crime in West End. Evening Standard, 17.

2 1,500 sleeping rough. (1972, November 2). The Times, 5.