Rough sleeping in London has reached a record high, with a total of 11,993 people seen sleeping rough in the year up to March, according to the latest Combined Homelessness

and Information Network (Chain) statistics. This is the highest number ever recorded in the database for a single year.

Homeless Link, a membership body for frontline homelessness services in England, described the rise as "appalling" and urged the next government to "act decisively to address this crisis."

The number of rough sleepers increased by 58% compared to the 7,581 people seen sleeping rough ten years ago, in 2014-15. Of the new rough sleepers with recorded information about their last settled base, almost a fifth (17%) had previously been staying in asylum support accommodation. UK nationals comprised 45% of all people seen rough sleeping in the year up to March, down from 49% the previous year.

Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, emphasized the severity of the situation, stating there was a "crisis, both in the capital and across the country.” He called on the next government to "create a cross-government plan to prevent rough sleeping and homelessness." Henderson advocated for the provision of "genuinely affordable" housing and the establishment of a range of "properly-funded" homelessness services to address the root causes of rough sleeping.

The Conservative manifesto has pledged to continue plans to end rough sleeping and prevent people from ending up on the streets, citing significant progress made over the past few years. Labour's manifesto promises to "develop a new cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country, to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness." The Liberal Democrats have also committed to ending rough sleeping within the next Parliament by urgently publishing a cross-Whitehall plan and exempting groups of homeless people from the shared accommodation rate. Photo by Cograng, Wikimedia commons.