Facts about homelessness

The most visible form of homelessness is people sleeping on the streets.

The number of people sleeping rough is measured separately from statutory homelessness statistics through local authority street counts.

Street counts provide a useful snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on a single night but are best regarded as indicators of trends, rather than exact numbers of men and women who sleep rough. The annual estimate of the numbers sleeping out in England on any single night is published in September each year.

The 2009 annual estimate found there were 464 people sleeping rough in England on any single night, and 265 of those people were in London. Source: Communities and Local Government