Increase in people sleeping rough in London is devastating
“Today’s figures highlight the devastating human consequences of Boris Johnson’s failure to tackle rough sleeping in London. For a Mayor who was elected in 2008 on a pledge to eradicate rough sleeping by the London Olympics, the record will show that it increased every single year under his mayoralty, with more than double the numbers on the streets in 2016 compared to when he took office.
"From spiralling housing costs, poor standards for renters and increases in rough sleepers its clear Boris Johnson’s primary legacy will be London’s housing crisis.”
Notes to editors
- The ‘Rough sleeping in England: Autumn 2015’ statistics are available here. The statistics reveal that the number of rough sleepers in London has increased 27% since last year, to 940. (page 3)
- Westminster in London was the local authority area with the highest number of rough sleepers in the country with 265.(page 3)
- Whole year data drawn from St Mungo’s Broadway, Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) outreach reports shows that rough sleeping in the capital has gone up every year since Boris Johnson was elected Mayor, despite his pledge to eradicate rough sleeping by 2012:
Total
2008/09 3472
2009/10 3613
2010/11 3975
2011/12 5678
2012/13 6437
2013/14 6508
2014/15 7581
- Tom Copley is a Londonwide Assembly Member.
For more information please contact London Assembly Labour Group senior press officer, David Courcoux, on 020 7983 4952. Number not for publication.