Shock Figures Reveal A Quarter Of A Million People Are Homeless

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Research conducted by the homeless charity Shelter reveals that more than a quarter of a million people are homeless in England.

According to the BBC, researchers used data from four sets of official 2016 statistics to compile what it describes as a “conservative” total. The figures show homelessness hotspots outside London, with high rates in Birmingham, Brighton and Luton.

For the very first time, official statistics from four different forms of recorded homelessness were used to estimate the total number of homeless. These were:

  • National government statistics on rough sleepers
  • Statistics on those in temporary accommodation
  • The number of people housed in hostels
  • The number of people waiting to be housed by social services department (obtained through Freedom of Information requests)

Shelter says the figure of 254,514 is a “robust lower-end estimate” because it has been adjusted down to account for any possible overlap and no estimates have been added in where information was not available.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Shelter’s founding shone a light on hidden homelessness in the 1960s slums. Hundreds of thousands of people will face the trauma of waking up homeless this Christmas,” he said.

“Decades in the making, this is the tragic result of a nation struggling under the weight of sky-high rents, a lack of affordable homes and cuts to welfare support.” He also went on to warn that the housing crisis was “tightening its grip” on the UK.

The government, however, refutes the figures and says it is investing more than £500m on homelessness. The Department for Communities and Local Government said homelessness was down on 2003 figures and added: “However, we know that one person without a home is one too many.

“That is why the government is investing over £500m during the course of this parliament to tackle homelessness. This includes protecting £315m for local authority homelessness prevention funding and £149m for central government funding.”