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<p>The Government's latest annual Rough Sleeping Statistics, published on 31 January
2019, include people sleeping rough in make shift camps but no separate figures about
the types of sites where people are sleeping rough are recorded.</p><p>These statistics
show the total number of people counted or estimated to be sleeping rough in each
local authority area in England, on a single night in Autumn 2018 was 4,677. This
was down by 74 people or 2 per cent from the 2017 total of 4,751 and was up 2,909
people or 165 per cent from the 2010 total of 1,768.</p><p>Local authorities use a
specific definition to identify people sleeping rough. This includes people sleeping
or who are about to bed down in open air locations and other places including tents,
cars, and makeshift shelters.</p><p>The full definition of people sleeping rough is
as follows:</p><p><em>People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing
next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as on the streets,
in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). People in buildings or other
places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars,
derelict boats, stations, or “bashes” which are makeshift shelters, often comprised
of cardboard boxes). The definition does not include people in hostels or shelters,
people in campsites or other sites used for recreational purposes or organised protest,
squatters or travellers. Bedded down is taken to mean either lying down or sleeping.
About to bed down includes those who are sitting in/on or near a sleeping bag or other
bedding.</em></p><p>These statistics are available at the following link:</p><p><a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018"
target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-in-england-autumn-2018</a></p><p>This
Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should
ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government
Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people
who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping
once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness
and rough sleeping over the spending review period. This year, Rough Sleeping Initiative
investment totals £46 million and has been allocated to 246 areas – providing funding
for an estimated 750 additional staff and over 2,600 bed spaces.</p>
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