National data released on Thursday confirms that street homelessness has reached its highest level since monitoring began in 2010, with 4,793 individuals recorded on a single night.
The latest government snapshot reveals a 3% year-on-year increase in rough sleeping across England, marking a significant milestone in the country’s ongoing housing crisis. While London remains the area with the highest concentration of people on the streets—totaling 1,277 individuals—the most dramatic surge occurred in the North East. In that region, the number of rough sleepers spiked by 31% to 162 in the last year alone.
Demographic shifts within the data highlight a growing vulnerability among women, whose numbers on the streets rose by 8% to 733. The figures also show a 5% increase in UK-born individuals sleeping rough, despite government efforts to curb long-term homelessness. In response to the crisis, the administration has announced a £50 million funding package to be distributed over three years to bolster municipal support services.
“The latest figures are a sobering reminder of the scale of the challenge we face. While we are investing millions, the demand for frontline services continues to outpace available support.”
In addition to street homelessness, the report indicates that temporary accommodation usage has hit a new peak. Between July and September 2025, nearly 135,000 households were residing in hotels or B&Bs, a nearly 7% rise from the previous year. Of these, more than 85,000 households include children, underscoring a systemic failure to provide permanent housing solutions for families.
SOURCES: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Homeless Street Angels, Leeds City Council, National Audit Office.
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