Rough sleeping has hit a record high in England.

CSJ analysis of official data shows that for the fourth consecutive year, the number of people sleeping rough on England’s streets has increased, by 96 per cent since 2021, and by 171 per cent since 2010.

Across our towns and cities, rough sleeping has become increasingly visible, a symbol of national decline, and a symptom of a broken social fabric. But while rough sleeping remains sadly familiar, it is also fundamentally changing, becoming entangled with record levels of immigration and the ongoing asylum crisis.

CSJ analysis shows that almost one in four (24 per cent) rough sleepers are not from the UK, rising to nearly one in two in London (47 per cent). Over the four years since 2021, the number of non-UK nationals sleeping rough has risen by 92 per cent. Among those with non-European Union (EU) nationalities, the increase has been even higher, a rise of 396 per cent since 2021.

These figures pose a serious challenge for the government, which has pledged to halve long-term rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament. While last year’s homelessness strategy, A National Plan to End Homelessness, includes positive measures on homelessness prevention, new duties for public services to collaborate, and nearly £3.5 billion of investment, its approach to long-term rough sleeping is underpowered, with no commitment to expand the most effective intervention – Housing First. Moreover, beyond a pilot in four council areas, improvements to data sharing, and a new training package for frontline staff, there is scant detail on how the government plans to reduce, and ultimately end, rough sleeping among non-UK nationals.

In this report, we identify how the government can strengthen its homelessness strategy and meet its ambition to halve long-term rough sleeping. This should begin with a targeted expansion of Housing First in England, a new approach to tackling non-UK national rough sleeping, and a stronger commitment to prevention by tackling the root causes of poverty.