Number of people sleeping rough in England rises for second year running

Increase means government will fail to meet manifesto promise to end rough sleeping before general election

The number of people spending the night on the streets or in tents rose for the second year in a row last year, official figures for England show, meaning the government will fail to meet its manifesto promise to end rough sleeping before the next general election.

An estimated 3,898 people slept rough in 2023, an annual increase of 27% – the largest annual increase since 2015 and more than double (120%) the number of people recorded as sleeping rough in 2010, when records began.