New figures show rough sleeping has risen by 55% since Labour left office

The number of homeless people sleeping on the streets has risen by almost a thousand since David Cameron became Prime Minister. Latest figures show that there were 2,744 people rough sleeping in Autumn of last year, compared to 1,768 in 2010.

Shadow Housing Minister Emma Reynolds said the rise recorded in these figures was “shocking” and condemned the policies that has led to the worsening situation.

“Rising housing costs and low pay have made it more and more difficult for people to keep a roof over their head. The Tory-led Government has presided over the lowest levels of housebuilding in peacetime since the 1920s, a drop in the number of affordable homes being built and policies like the Bedroom Tax have made things even worse.”

In 2009, Cameron said it was “a disgrace” that homelessness existed in one of the world’s largest economies, comments Reynold’s has picked up on in reacting to today’s figures. “Warm words are cold comfort to those sleeping rough if you fail to act,” the shadow minister said today.

Between 1998 and 2009, the Labour Government reduced rough sleeping by 75%, and Reynolds set out her priorities for dealing with the creeping homelessness crisis:

“Labour is committed to tackling homelessness and rough sleeping by building more affordable homes, tackling low pay by raising the minimum wage, getting a fairer deal for private renters, and abolishing the unfair Bedroom Tax.”

The figures show that the problem appears to be escalating: there was a 14% rise in the number of people on the streets in the past year, up from a 3% rise the year before. There has also been a particularly steep rise in numbers of rough sleeps in London, which has seen a 37% rise in a single year. The findings recorded 742 rough sleepers in London.