Sadiq delivers biggest ever single investment in London of £10m to tackle rough sleeping

• Mayor announces record additional £10m investment, backing his commitment with Government to end rough sleeping in the capital by 2030
• Additional funding package represents biggest ever single investment, more than any London Mayor, to tackle rough sleeping in the capital
• New funding will transform and expand a network of Ending Homelessness Hubs across the capital, providing 24/7 specialist support for people new to rough sleeping and prevention services
• Sadiq renews pledge to work with Government, boroughs and the homelessness sector to put London on a pathway to end rough sleeping via his spring 2025 Plan of Action

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced the biggest ever single investment of £10million to tackle the capital’s rough sleeping crisis – more than any London Mayor.

With rough sleeping having risen across the country and recent City Hall data showing a 20 per cent annual increase in the number of Londoners on the streets for the first time, [1] Sadiq has committed a record extra £10m to his rough sleeping budget [2], focused on ‘prevention as well as cure’, to put the capital on a pathway to end rough sleeping for good by 2030.

The funding will expand a network of ‘Ending Homelessness Hubs’. The hubs are safe places for people sleeping rough for the first time to be assessed by professional teams, so that plans can be made quickly to support them away from the streets in the long-term.

The hubs build on the success of the Mayor’s four existing ‘No Second Night Out’ (NSNO) services, through which charity partner St Mungo’s deliver 24/7 specialist care and support for Londoners sleeping rough. This includes round-the-clock support in reconnecting service users with their families and friends, advice on what financial support they may be entitled to, helping to secure onward move-on accommodation, and mental health support.

The expansion will establish an Ending Homelessness Hub for every sub-region of the capital [3], with a brand new fifth hub set to open in early 2026, helping an additional 500 people per year. For the first time ever, a new focus on prevention will be built into the service, meaning that teams will step in and provide support to high-risk Londoners before they spend a first night on the streets. These changes will be rolled out in co-ordination with London boroughs and the wider homelessness sector, and could see Ending Homelessness Hubs taking referrals from trusted partners such as day centres, even if individuals have not previously slept rough but are at immediate risk of doing so.

The Mayor will also help more Londoners to exit rough sleeping for good through access to the long-term housing and support needed to rebuild their lives. In October last year, the Mayor announced his ‘Homes off the Streets’ drive, and today’s investment will provide the resources needed to bring more homes into this scheme, including Housing First – which gives people who are chronically homeless a home without any conditions.

Today’s announcement comes ahead of the Mayor’s Rough Sleeping Plan of Action, due to be published in the spring, which will establish a shared mission for ending rough sleeping – including the scale of funding required and the best mechanisms for achieving this ambition by 2030. 

The Mayor today visited a south London NSNO Hub where he renewed his pledge to work closely with the Government, boroughs, and the homelessness sector to deliver innovative long-term solutions to the capital’s rough sleeping crisis.

Sadiq is clear that ending rough sleeping in London for good will require every sector to step up and play their part – from health to housing, and social care to wider society – backed by greater investment.

During his time as Mayor, Sadiq has delivered record funding to homelessness charities and service providers across the capital. He’s also quadrupled City Hall’s rough sleeping budget; at £36.3 million in 2023/24, this is now more than four times the £8.45 million a year it was when Sadiq took office in 2016. Around 18,000 people have been helped off the capital’s streets since 2016 through the Mayor’s services alone, with 75 per cent staying off the streets for good.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m committed to putting London on a pathway to ending rough sleeping for good by 2030, which is why today I’m delivering an additional £10m in funding – the biggest ever single investment – to help more Londoners build their lives away from the streets.

“Tackling the capital’s rough sleeping crisis won’t be easy, but I’m confident it can be done with strong leadership and a clear vision for how to get there, backed by the Government and wider society.

“My Plan of Action on rough sleeping, due to be published this spring, will build on the huge amount of work we’ve done over the years to tackle this vital issue. As well as taking more people of the streets now, a stronger focus on prevention will help us to end rough sleeping as we continue to build a better, fairer London for everyone.”

The Mayor of Lewisham, Brenda Dacres, added: “Spaces like the No Second Night Out hub are absolutely vital in our efforts to end homelessness.

“This new funding from the Mayor of London will help to expand services to support people facing homelessness here in Lewisham and across London.

“We are facing a housing and homelessness crisis; boroughs can’t tackle this alone, and we welcome this funding to support councils and charities to help people when they need it most.”

Emma Haddad, CEO of St Mungo’s, said: “With the capital seeing some of the highest rates of people rough sleeping, we welcome the Mayor of London’s focus on preventing homelessness. The NSNO hubs funded by the Mayor and run by St Mungo’s have already made a huge difference in helping people off the streets; the reality is that without somewhere safe and warm to stay for the night, it’s not only life chances that are reduced, but life expectancy as well. This announcement however illustrates that more can be done to address the root causes of homelessness.

“This investment in new hubs will help us be there for people before they end up sleeping rough. Shifting the dial to prevention brings us closer to our goal of ending homelessness for good, meaning fewer people relying on emergency accommodation in an already creaking housing system.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Mayor to turn the tide on homelessness and rough sleeping. Over the coming year, we know that that there is a lot we can achieve together.”