Charities warn government won't meet goal of ending rough sleeping by 2024.

In September, the government published its Ending Rough Sleeping For Good strategy, restating its 2019 manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping in England by 2024. However, homelessness charities have expressed doubt that this goal will be achieved, citing the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities' statistics showing that the number of homeless people has gone up for the first time since 2017. On a single night in autumn 2022, more than 3,000 people were sleeping rough - a 626 increase from the year before.

The organisations welcomed the funding announced in the Spring Statement and the introduction of the Renters' Reform Bill to Parliament last month, with the pledge to end Section 21 so-called no-fault evictions. However, they remain deeply concerned about the financial position of homelessness services across the country. Polling from the charity Homeless Link found that nearly half of the 356 organisations who responded agree that the rising cost of living means their organisations risk service closures.

The letter sent to the government states that the £100 million outlined in the Spring Budget is simply not enough, and some homelessness services have already had to scale back their work to cut costs. It goes on to highlight the human cost of the situation, noting that it could be a young person who has recently left the care system, a woman fleeing an abusive partner, or someone who simply couldn't keep up with rising rents.

The organisations call on the prime minister to take the necessary action to meet the target, including giving local authorities the resources to uplift commissioned homelessness contracts to reflect inflation so services can provide the best possible support to people who need it. A government spokesperson said they remain absolutely committed to ending rough sleeping, highlighting the £2 billion Rough Sleeping Strategy to help people off the streets, which includes investment of up to £500 million in funding to local authorities across England from April 2022 to March 2025.

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