Government confirms that local authorities have provided more than 14,600 people with emergency accommodation since start of coronavirus pandemic

New management information shows that, as at May 2020, number of people accommodated was 4,450 in London and 10,160 in rest of UK

The government has confirmed that local authorities have provided more than 14,600 people with emergency accommodation since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a written statement to Parliament today, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing Luke Hall said that -

'Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has worked closely with local authorities, charities and health providers to offer accommodation to as many rough sleepers as possible in order to help them stay safe during the pandemic.

We have asked all local authorities to provide information on the number of individuals they have accommodated. The information provided is management information, not official statistics, and local authorities continue to hold the most recent information.

This information submitted shows that since the start of the pandemic, local authorities have accommodated 14,610 people. This includes people coming in directly from the streets, people previously housed in shared night shelters and people who have become vulnerable to rough sleeping during the pandemic.'

Mr Hall went on to say that this number should not be compared to the official autumn annual snapshot of rough sleeping numbers because -

'A significant proportion of the 15,000 people accommodated were not rough sleepers but have been housed in order to prevent any risk of them sleeping rough during the pandemic.'

Mr Hall also highlighted that, 'in order to be transparent', the government has today published the management information received from local authorities which shows that, as at May 2020, the number of people that were provided with emergency accommodation was 4,450 in London and 10,160 in the rest of England.

NB - the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has written to Mr Hall (on 2 June 2020) to seek clarification of the reason why the government has decided to fund only 6,000 new supported homes when 15,000 people are currently housed in emergency accommodated as a result of the pandemic.

Mr Hall's written statement on the government's COVID-19 rough sleeping response is available from parliament.uk