4,068 persons were seen sleeping rough in London in this period, a 12% increase on the same quarter last year.

309 young people were seen sleeping rough in this period, 8% more than last year (285 in July – September 2022). Young people represent 8% of the total number of rough sleepers in London.

Since summer 2022, numbers of those rough sleepers in the capital have increased compared to the previous year.

Balbir Kaur Chatrik, Director of Policy and Communications at Centrepoint, said:

“The government’s commitment to end rough sleeping casts a long shadow over every release like this. We must keep some hope alive that we can end rough sleeping soon – but each increase puts us further away from achieving that and places even more people in danger.

“What makes matters worse is that these few hundred young people are just the tip of the iceberg. There will be dozens, potentially hundreds, more sleeping in similarly unsafe places and many thousands trapped in a cycle of hidden homelessness and unable to access support. That is what is most worrying here: whatever terror waits on the streets for vulnerable young people, there is no means available to local authorities or charities to stem the flow and stop them becoming homeless in the first place.

“No young person should find themselves out on the streets – but without a clear plan and significant investment it’s inevitable that many more will in the months to come. The fact is that rough sleeping was already ended once in this parliament and the government have since lacked the political nerve to see it through.”