The number of people sleeping rough on the streets of London hit a 10-year high last year, with the equivalent of 15 people a day ending up newly homeless, new figures show.
Some 8,855 people slept rough in the capital in the year up to March 2019 – a rise of nearly a fifth – with 5,529 new people on London’s streets over the same period, data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) shows.
The total number of rough sleepers recorded in London is nearly two-and-a-half-times the number seen in 2009/10, when there were 3673 rough sleepers in the Greater London region.
Just over a third of new rough sleepers had lost out on private rented accommodation, either as a result of being evicted or asked to leave.
Meanwhile, a quarter of people found sleeping rough were helped into accommodation by homelessness services, while 8% were given help to reconnect with their home area or country.
The figures come as a network of charities, politicians and police call for the government to scrap the 195-year-old Vagrancy Act, which makes rough sleeping and begging illegal in England and Wales.
Despite prosecutions under the “out of date” act falling since 2015, more than 1,300 people were prosecuted last year, figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the charity Crisis shows.
Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes, said: “It’s simply unforgivable that more and more people are being forced to sleep rough on our streets, facing incredible dangers every day, in large part because they cannot afford to keep their homes.
“Worse still, many of those in these devastating circumstances are living under the constant threat of being moved on, fined, or arrested under the antiquated Vagrancy Act.
“This cannot go on. We know with the right safety nets in place – like a housing benefit system which truly covers the costs of renting – we can tackle the roots causes and stop people becoming homeless in the first place.”
A government spokeswoman said: “The number of vulnerable people sleeping on our streets has fallen for the first time in eight years, but today’s figures show there is further to go in London if we are to end rough sleeping for good.
“That’s why we have provided the capital with over £13m through our Rough Sleeping Initiative - providing an estimated 760 more bed spaces and 190 specialist support staff this year alone.
“Councils across London are also doing good work to help those sleeping rough from outside the UK, backed by government investment. We will continue to work with the GLA to speed up the resolution of complex immigration cases, and to provide tailored support to help non-UK nationals access employment and training.”
Figures out last December show some 597 rough sleeper deaths were recorded in England and Wales in 2017, a rise of 24% over five years, the ONS found.