Key facts
- England had 8,748 rough sleepers in June, the highest since November 2025, per government statistics.
- Only 15% of rough sleepers were found accommodation by the end of June, the lowest since August 2025.
- A record 135,600 households in England were in temporary accommodation at the end of March 2026, about 90% above a decade earlier.
- Homelessness minister Florence Eshalomi said a "route off the street" may mean mental health or substance misuse support, not housing.
- Eshalomi said the government cannot force people off the streets and that the offer of a bed will remain for those who want it.
- Burnham pledged £442m in August and a further £432m from March 2027 for winter support.
England had 8,748 rough sleepers in June, nearly 1,000 more than in January and the highest number since November 2025, according to government statistics. Only 15% of those people had been found accommodation by the end of June, the lowest share since August 2025, as councils struggled with demand for temporary and affordable housing.
Homelessness minister Florence Eshalomi said the government hoped to offer a bed to every rough sleeper by Christmas but that there was a chronic shortage of suitable housing. Asked whether every person on the streets in England would be offered accommodation within six weeks, she said: "We're hoping to offer that, but what we are definitely offering is a route off the street for everyone who wants to take up that offer."
Eshalomi said that route may not involve housing. "For some people it will be a route into accommodation, for some people it could be a dedicated plan around their mental health or substance misuse," she said, adding that the government cannot force people off the streets.
Andy Burnham made ending rough sleeping a central pledge of his premiership. In a Downing Street speech on July 20, when he became prime minister, he said he would issue an instruction to end rough sleeping. The next month he announced £442m in increased funding as part of what he called the "national drive to get everyone in for Christmas", and in October he set out a further £432m from March 2027 for a safe route off the streets over the winter.
Councils across England have said the number of homeless families is growing because of the shortage of affordable housing, record demand for temporary accommodation and the long-term freeze of local housing allowance, which leaves rents far above the welfare available to low-income households. A record 135,600 households were in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs and hostels at the end of March 2026, about 90% higher than a decade earlier and 4% higher than the previous year.
Frontline professionals are also concerned about the prisons early release scheme, with some offenders released without stable accommodation, and about no-fault evictions before the practice was banned on May 1. Eshalomi, who was appointed in July, has previously described the local housing allowance freeze as one of the "systemic barriers" to reducing homelessness. On a visit to a temporary accommodation facility in Manchester, she said the area was not "best policy" and that she raised it constantly with colleagues and the Treasury. She said she was working with councils and housing associations to bring thousands of empty or derelict properties into use, and that the solution was ultimately "building those homes".