Rough sleeping in England: Local and national government action

Rough sleeping refers to people who are homeless and sleeping on the streets or in other places not meant for people to live in such as cars, doorways, parks, bus shelters and abandoned buildings.

Rough sleeping is the most dangerous form of homelessness and can have significant physical and health impacts. In recent decades, successive governments have tried to reduce or end rough sleeping altogether.

Local housing authorities do not have to house all homeless people who ask them for assistance, even if they are sleeping rough. However, they do have to take steps under part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (as amended by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017) to help people prevent or relieve an experience of homelessness if they are eligible for assistance (due to their UK immigration status).

People experiencing rough sleeping are most likely to be single people or couples with no dependent children, so are least likely to be in ‘priority need’ for homelessness assistance. This means many rough sleepers will not be owed an accommodation duty. However, authorities do have some powers to accommodate people who are not in priority need.

In reaching their decisions, local housing authorities must comply with all relevant legislation and case law, and have regard to the government’s statutory homelessness code of guidance. They must also follow their own internal policies and procedures, which may be published on their websites.

What challenges have local authorities experienced?

Since the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, multiple studies have considered its implementation and found that, alongside some positive effects, challenges remain. Some of these challenges include:

• constraints on funding, which are hindering efforts to prevent homelessness and limiting investment in alternative housing options
• a shortage of affordable housing (this has been referred to as a “key barrier” to relieving homelessness in some areas, particularly in London)
• difficulties for some local authorities in achieving the aims of the act because of an increase in the number of applicants with multiple and/or higher support needs
• inconsistent implementation of the pubic authority ‘duty to refer’ (although this has also triggered some positive feedback from local authorities, and there may be scope for extending the duty to other public bodies which are not already included)

What actions have governments taken to reduce rough sleeping?

Successive governments over the last three decades have implemented numerous initiatives to reduce rough sleeping. Most recently, governments have committed to ending rough sleeping altogether.

In 1990, the first Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) was launched by the  Conservative government as a short-term response to increasing levels of rough sleeping in London. The RSI spanned Conservative and Labour governments until it was replaced by a new programme introduced by the Labour government in 1999.

Between 1997 and 2010, rough sleeping decreased by three quarters under successive Labour governments. Between 2010 and 2019, the coalition and Conservative governments introduced a range of programmes and funding initiatives including No Second Night Out, the Homelessness Transition Fund and Help for Single Homeless Fund. The 2015 to 2017 Conservative government also supported the passage of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.

The 2017 to 2019 Conservative government committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027. Its new Rough Sleeping Initiative (RSI) was launched in March 2018 to help achieve this aim. Other measures included launching the Housing First Pilots and Rapid Rehousing Pathway, and publishing a new rough sleeping strategy.

The Conservative and Unionist Party Manifesto 2019 (PDF) committed to ending “the blight of rough sleeping by the end of the next Parliament” (that is, by 2024) through an extension of the RSI, continuing the Housing First Pilots and making funding available for local services to meet the health and housing needs of people living on the streets.

The government’s ‘Everyone In’ programme to assist rough sleepers through the covid-19 crisis was hailed as one of the most effective responses to the pandemic. The homelessness sector was keen to build on its success to achieve the government’s target of ending rough sleeping by 2024. However, witnesses to a 2024 Public Account Committee (PAC) inquiry on tackling homelessness highlighted that success was not sustained post-pandemic due to systemic challenges, including a shortage of affordable housing supply and economic pressures such as cost of living rises and “significant” increases in private sector rents.

A refreshed strategy, Ending Rough Sleeping for Good, was published in September 2022 and supported by over £2 billion up to 2025. It outlined a “four-pronged approach” of prevention, intervention, recovery and a more transparent and joined-up system.

How effective have rough sleeping policies been?

Despite considerable efforts, official rough sleeping statistics show that rough sleeping has risen in recent years. Information about official rough sleeping statistics is provided in an accompanying Commons Library briefing Rough sleeping in England: Causes and statistics (January 2025).

Numerous reports have identified measures viewed as necessary to end rough sleeping including:

• a long-term strategy
• concerted cross-government working
• multi-year funding

Commentators have also stressed the need address welfare policies, such as housing benefit rates for people living in the private rented sector, and the need for more social rented housing to avoid efforts “becoming a wasted opportunity.”

The Chartered Institute of Housing’s (CIH) submission to the 2024 PAC inquiry on tackling homelessness references a well-established model for estimating housing supply requirements in England, which indicates the need for an additional 90,000 social rented homes each year. CIH also emphasises the importance of aligning the link between rates of housing benefit and private market rents.

The ongoing impact of funding pressures on local authorities’ capacity to reduce homelessness has also been highlighted by stakeholders.

What are the Labour government’s plans?

Referring to “huge strides in ending homelessness” made under the last Labour government, the Labour Party Manifesto 2024  says that the party will build on the “lessons of our past” and “develop a new cross-government strategy, working with Mayors and Councils across the country, to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness.”

Working group and expert group

Since taking office in July 2024, the Labour government has set up an inter-ministerial working group to develop its strategy for ending homelessness. The group held its first meeting in November 2024. In a statement to Parliament on 6 November 2024, Homelessness Minister, Rushanara Ali, said the group “will bring together ministers from across Government to drive progress on the development of our strategy to get back on track to ending homelessness, making sure we are working across government, and in partnership with local authorities and Mayors, to tackle the root causes.”

The government has also established an expert advisory group, made up of homelessness and rough sleeping sector representatives, local and combined authorities, and other homelessness experts. The government is also consulting people with lived experience “to ensure that the voices of those with lived experience are reflected in the homelessness strategy.”

Investment and legislation

On 18 December 2024, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced “historic levels of investment” in homelessness prevention alongside additional funding to reduce rough sleeping. Local authorities across England will receive an allocation from almost £1 billion of new funding for 2025/26 to reduce and prevent homelessness. The funding package includes a £185.6 million “new streamlined Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant”(RSPARG). Through the RSPARG, authorities can fund:

• accommodation (including Housing First)
• outreach staff
• support for prison leavers to access private rented sector tenancies
• specialist services such as physical and mental health
• immigration advice

The government is also aiming to provide “the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation”. To date, it has announced an additional £500 million of investment in the current Affordable Homes Programme (AHP), bringing total investment in the AHP for 2025/26 to over £5 billion. The government is also aiming to “better protect our existing stock” of social housing by making changes to the Right to Buy policy.

When highlighting wider action it is taking to “tackle the root causes of homelessness”, the government also refers to measures being introduced through its Renters’ Rights Bill, such as abolishing private landlords’ ability to end a tenancy using a “no-fault” section 21 notice.

The Commons Library briefing Rough Sleeping in England: Causes and statistics provides an overview of what is known about the causes of rough sleeping in England and a summary of official rough sleeping statistics.