Rough sleeping in London is falling. But new stats show 'urgent action' is needed from Andy Burnham

The number of people newly sleeping rough on London’s streets rose following Andy Burnham’s promise to end rough sleeping, new statistics show.

The prime minister entered 10 Downing Street in July and made ending rough sleeping his first instruction in the job before later promising an offer of a route off the streets for everyone by Christmas.

But new Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) figures show that 2,168 people were newly sleeping rough in London between July and September. That’s a 2% rise on the same period last year.

There was also bad news for the prime minister’s pledge when it came to people deemed to be living on the streets in London long-term. Frontline outreach workers found 819 people were long-term rough sleepers, representing an 8% rise on the same three-month period last year and 20% higher than in April to June 2026.

But, overall, outreach teams counted 4,678 people sleeping rough in London between July and September, down 1% annually.

Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s said: “These numbers paint a picture of the complicated reality behind that [the prime minister’s] pledge – and why, as the prime minister said, you cannot put a simple timeframe on everyone’s journey of recovering from homelessness.

“Every day and every night, our frontline teams meet people who have been forced to sleep rough for long periods. They often struggle to trust systems that have failed them before, so building relationships with them can take months or even years.

“As the data shows us, almost eight in 10 people rough sleeping in London this summer had support needs such as poor mental health or substance use. Many have experienced domestic abuse and trauma, which make it even more difficult for them to rebuild their lives.

“That’s why we know a one-size-fits-all approach will not work. If we want to properly seize this opportunity, the government and homelessness services must work together to ensure that people receive tailored support.”

New rough sleepers may have made up 46% of the July-to-September total but three out of every four people spotted on the streets spent just one night sleeping rough. A total of 1,655 out of 2,168 people were brought off the streets after a single night.

But 79 people ended up living on the streets long-term, the quarterly statistics show.

Alexia Murphy, CEO of youth homelessness charity Depaul UK, hailed a 24% fall in the number of 18–25-year-olds recorded as sleeping rough in the figures.

The charity operates the London Youth Hub, run with New Horizon Youth Centre and funded by the Greater London Authority, that supported 106 young people off the streets between April 2025 and March 2026 with 96% not returning to rough sleeping within six months.

“Today’s substantial fall in the number of young people recorded sleeping rough is welcome progress. It should give us confidence that further progress is possible and strengthen the case for sustained action,” said Murphy.

“Our partnership with the Greater London Authority and New Horizon Youth Centre is helping young people find safety and a route out of homelessness. No single service can account for this reduction, but our London Youth Hub is an important part of the capital’s response. The task now is to build on that work so fewer young people ever reach the streets.

“Getting people off the streets is urgent. Preventing the next young person from having to sleep there must be just as much of a priority.”

Last year, London mayor Sadiq Khan told Big Issue that he didn’t expect to see rough sleeping fall in the English capital on 2026. Chain statistics have, so far, proven him right.

But the latest figures show there is still a long way to go to achieve Burnham’s long-term goal of ending rough sleeping for good.

Speaking to Big Issue earlier this week ahead of a rough sleeping summit, Burnham told Big Issue that he knew addressing the issue would take a lot longer the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Asked whether it would be considered a failure to see people sleeping rough on Boxing Day this year, Burnham answered: “Well, it will have done to a degree. But I’m not going to be naive. I can offer people a route off the streets, but not everybody will take it. That is the reality of the situation.  

“People may be low on trust when they are offered to come in. It’s not the case that you can say there will be nobody sleeping rough. That isn’t right, and I wouldn’t say that. What I can say though is I can ask every council as part of the funding we’ve given to provide an offer to everyone, and that’s what we’re confident of now.”

Read more:

• Autumn budget 2026: Keeping housing benefit freeze ‘puts rough sleeping promise at risk’
• The government promised a brownfield housebuilding boom. What’s the hold up? 
• Can Andy Burnham end rough sleeping while prisons are in crisis?

To achieve his goals, the prime minister must take “urgent action” to roll out Housing First more widely and make private renting more affordable, argued Crisis chief executive Matt Downie.

“As cost-of-living pressures continue to push more people towards homelessness and into need of support from charities like Crisis, we must prioritise providing safe, settled homes and the support people need to keep them, in line with the proven Housing First approach,” said Downie.

“Crisis stands ready to work with the mayor and Greater London to support efforts to expand Housing First locally, to end rough sleeping for people with the most complex support needs.

“It is also vital that we prevent homelessness in the first place by Westminster government restoring housing benefit, so it reflects the real cost of private rents, preventing people from losing the roof over their heads. By taking these steps, we can finally consign rough sleeping to the history books.”

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