Figures show the stark reality of people sleeping on the streets in Coventry and Warwickshire as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham pledges to end rough sleeping.
The former Manchester Mayor, who takes over the reins of the country following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer, said his first instruction as Prime Minister will be ‘to end rough sleeping in our country’.
Official government data reveals the scale of the task. According to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government there were a total of 4,793 rough sleepers in England last year.
But even this huge number is likely to be an underestimate. The count is based on an autumn evening snapshot when councils go out and do a head count.
In Coventry, mirroring national trends, the number of rough sleepers has increased dramatically since 2010. Back then just five people were seen sleeping rough on our city’s streets – now that figure stands at 29.
You can see the picture for your area in our interactive map.
Even one rough sleeper is too many – everyone should have somewhere to call a home. But the picture in Coventry is not as stark as many other cities and council areas. Birmingham was sixth nationally for the highest number of rough sleepers with 68. Leeds had 65, Leicester 51 and Nottingham 59.
Across Warwickshire the picture is more nuanced. Council officials saw no rough sleepers in North Warwickshire last year. Nuneaton and Bedworth and Stratford both had 14 rough sleepers. And there were 11 each in Rugby and Warwick.
Two Coventry MPs have welcomed the commitment to end rough sleeping. Mary Creagh, MP for Coventry East, said: “I welcome his first announcement as Prime Minister on the moral mission to end rough sleeping on our street, it really is a stain on the conscience of the nation.”
And Taiwo Owatemi, MP for Coventry North West, said: “His commitment to end rough sleeping in Britain […] reflects the Andy I know: someone with a deep sense of fairness, who believes nobody should be abandoned without a place to call home.”
The number of rough sleepers in England had been falling since 2017, the year Andy Burnham was elected as mayor of Greater Manchester.
There were 4,751 rough sleepers in England that year, up from as few as 1,768 in 2010.
The numbers fell sharply, down to 2,443 in 2021.
However, they’ve been climbing ever since, reaching a total of 4,793 last year – the highest in recent times.
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