Public sector reacting to rough sleeping, not preventing it

New research by Audit Wales has found that the public sector was spending up to £210 million reacting to, rather than preventing, rough sleeping.

All agree that the coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity for public bodies to start addressing weaknesses in partnership working to help tackle rough sleeping.

The latest Adit Wales report found that in recent years, whilst many public bodies work with people sleeping rough, services were not always joined up and helping people when they needed it. It highlights many examples of people being assisted off the streets and into temporary accommodation, but they did not get the support they needed to address the root causes of their homelessness and often ended up back where they started.

Drawing on information from specialist charities who work with people sleeping rough, there are roughly 3,000 incidences of rough sleeping every year. The most recent data published by Welsh Government shows the number of people sleeping rough was continuing to rise before the pandemic, increasing by 17 per cent between November 2018 and November 2019.

The report says that the key to tackling this problem is for public bodies to deliver a single public service response targeted at people sleeping rough. To support this, Audit Wales has included in itsr report a self-reflection tool for public bodies to use to improve how they can jointly address complex needs in the future.

Adrian Crompton, Auditor General for Wales, said: “There has been a real change and emphasis on rough sleeping since the pandemic hit, with public services stepping up to help people off the streets into accommodation. Public services now need to capitalise on this work and deliver longer-term solutions to end people sleeping on our streets.

I believe that for the first time in a generation, eliminating rough sleeping in Wales is a possibility. Our report sets out how we can all work towards this goal. Public bodies must not just focus on giving people a roof over their head, it needs all partners to work together to address the root causes of homelessness.”