Rough sleeping five times higher than figures claim

Research by the BBC has suggested that five times as many rough sleepers were seen by councils in the last year than reported in official figures, which are a one-night snapshot.

It argues that more than 28,000 people in the UK were recorded sleeping rough in 12 months, with the government snapshot deemed not accurate at reflecting the scale of the problem.

New official figures will be released on 27 February. Data for last year showed that 4,677 people slept rough in England on the one night the snapshot survey was taken, a drop of two per cent on the year before but 165 per cent up on 2010.

However, responses to the BBC from councils across the country showed nearly 25,000 people were recorded sleeping rough at least once in England during the latest year on record.

Central London has consistently had the highest number of rough sleepers. Outside the capital, Hastings recorded the highest rates of individuals per household population out of the councils that replied.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it is providing £500 million this year to homelessness and rough sleeping services.

In Wales the total was 599 rough sleepers, but most councils referred to Welsh government statistics rather than providing full-year figures. In Scotland the 2,800 recorded came mainly from housing applications in which people said they slept rough during the previous three months. The Northern Ireland Housing Executive only provided an estimate based on a single night snapshot, when it found 38.