Big rise in sleeping on the streets in Shropshire

There were 10 homeless people living in Telford & Wrekin in 2017, the highest amount since 2012.

In the rest of Shropshire – like in 2016 – there were 13 rough sleepers in the county.

The latest figures, which come from a single night in autumn 2017, have been released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Across the UK, local authorities estimated there were around 4,751 rough sleepers, marking another steep rise in the problem in recent years, up 15 per cent from 4,134 in 2016 to the highest point since comparable records began in 2010.

Charity Homeless Link said the homelessness figures amounted to a 73 per cent rise in rough sleeping over the past three years.

Supported housing

Chief executive Rick Henderson said: “We have a long way to go if rough sleeping is to be eliminated altogether, and as a member of the Rough Sleeping Advisory Group, we will be working with Government and others to ensure a strategic and co-ordinated response is put in place and effective action taken.

“Our members – homelessness and supported housing services -–are doing some excellent work; they also need to be recognised as part of the solution, and continued investment in these vital services is critical.

“A key part of this will involve guaranteeing that the future funding model for supported housing provides the necessary certainty, stability and sustainability – something we do not believe the current proposals will achieve.”

“These services provide a lifeline for thousands of vulnerable people and it is imperative that they are protected if we are to ensure that everyone in our country has a place to call home.”

Just one of the 13 sleeping rough in Shropshire was a woman, all were UK nationals while one was below the age of 25. All 10 of the homeless people reported in Telford & Wrekin were men from the UK and three and 30 per cent were younger than 25. The Government says it is committed to investing to halve rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it completely by 2027.

Catastrophe

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “To break the homelessness cycle once and for all, we are providing over £1 billion of funding, supporting rough sleepers with the most complex needs through a new Housing First approach and bringing in the most ambitious legislation in decades that will mean people get the support they need earlier.”

Charity Crisis echoed Mr Henderson’s concerns about the figures and called on the Government to take “swift action” to tackle the problem.

Jon Sparkes, chief executive said: “It is truly a catastrophe that in a country as prosperous as this, more and more people are finding themselves forced to sleep in dangerous and freezing conditions, when we have evidence to show how the situation could be turned around.

“Today’s report makes it only too clear that unless we take action as a society, the problem is only going to keep getting worse with every year that passes.

“While we welcome the Government’s pledges to tackle rough sleeping, we’re calling on the Government to take swift action to tackle the problem and fix it once and for all.”