Mayor of London urges government to take cost-of-living action amid rough sleeping crisis

Sadiq Khan has called on the government to take immediate action on the cost-of-living crisis, with a growing number of people are being forced to sleep on the streets.

Recent statistics release by City Hall from the GLA-commissioned Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN)show that there was a 21 per cent increase increase in people sleeping rough in London between April and September 2022, compared to the same period last year.

According to analysis from Hometrack suggests that annual London rental inflation was 18 per cent in July.

The Mayor has called on central government to freeze private sector rents and reinstate the social security safety net which prevents people from becoming homeless, including lifting the benefit cap. He has also called for local authorities to receive the needed funding to meet their duties under the Homelessness reduction act and provide support services such as drug and alcohol treatment which help prevent homelessness.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “Since I was elected Mayor, around 13,500 people have been helped off our capital’s streets with eight in ten staying off the streets for good. Our outreach workers, charity teams, healthcare professionals and council staff are not only vital partners in this work but unsung heroes and deserve our heartfelt gratitude.

“Despite this progress, extraordinary financial pressures are putting the poorest Londoners at growing risk of homelessness with the number of people sleeping rough already up by a fifth year on year. We continue to see a revolving door of people ending up homeless as a result of this escalating cost of living crisis.

"This cannot be allowed to continue, this new Government must act now to prevent the circumstances that lead to people sleeping rough before thousands more are forced to face a winter on the streets.”