The rate of people sleeping rough on a single night in England in 2022 was 5.4 people per 100,000. This has increased since 2021 (4.3 per 100,000) though is lower than in 2017 (8.5 per 100,000).
In 2022/23, 32.1 percent of people seen to be sleeping rough in London were aged between 36 and 45 years old, the most common age group in that year. In this same year, just 8.4 percent of people seen to be homeless were under the aged between 18 and 24, and a further 12 percent were aged over 55.
The number of people reported to be sleeping rough in London was 10,053 in 2022/23.
A refreshed strategy, Ending Rough Sleeping for Good, was published in September 2022. It focuses on a “four-pronged approach” of prevention, intervention, recovery and ensuring a joined-up transparent approach supported by over £2 billion up to 2025.
Since 1824, the Vagrancy Act has made it a crime to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. People sleeping rough could face police action and a fine of up to £1,000. But while repeal is now matter of law, the Act is still on the statute books.
Night shelters are places to sleep for people who would be on the streets. You do not have to pay to stay in most night shelters. Some are only open in the winter or when there is extreme weather. You arrive by a set time in the evening and leave in the morning.
So if you're on a motorway and pull into a service station or a legal rest area, you can sleep in your car. Likewise, parking on a street or car park and sleeping is legal however you need to be aware of any restrictions. For example, most service stations will fine you if you park for longer than two hours.
Personal experiences. Many homeless people have experienced traumatic life experiences, which continue to negatively impact on their lives in harmful ways. St Mungo's says: “Many of the people we see have mental or physical health problems or have issues with drug or alcohol use.
Rough sleeping is one of the most visible types of homelessness. Rough sleeping includes sleeping outside or in places that aren't designed for people to live in, including cars, doorways and abandoned buildings.
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 street, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments).
Nearly 150,000 people in London are living in temporary accommodation, accounting for more than half the number of such homeless people in the whole of England, according to an analysis by the homelessness charity Shelter.
Shelter's new report also reveals the areas across England where homelessness is most acute: London comes out worst, with one in 53 people now homeless in the capital. Outside of London, Luton is the area with the highest rate of homelessness with one in 66 people homeless.
New research from Shelter shows at least 271,000 people are recorded as homeless in England, including 123,000 children. Shelter's detailed analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to a Freedom of Information request shows that one in 208 people in England are without a home.
Illness, such as untreated mental health or other chronic health issues, problematic alcohol, drug or substance abuse, are additional factors that may result in some people sleeping rough.
All forms of homelessness are extremely serious, the average age of death is in the mid-40s. A study commissioned by Crisis found it to be 47. More recent statistics imply the average age of death is just 44.
The latest data shows 2,447 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in March 2023. The official figures show a rise of 342 people or 16% since the previous quarter in December 2022 and a rise of 641 people or 35% since the same time in 2022.
Worryingly, the overall increase is being driven by people sleeping rough for the first time (1,844 people and 51% of all rough sleepers) – an increase of 35% compared to the same period last year. This suggests that mounting living costs and a rapid decline in affordable housing is pushing people into homelessness.
If you do rough sleep, please follow this advice: – Always sleep where there are other people. – Make sure you sleep on top of something like a blanket, a sleeping bag or a bench and not directly on the ground. – Try to keep your head, hands and feet well covered and warm.
You may be legally homeless if: you've no legal right to live in accommodation anywhere in the world. you cannot get into your home, for example your landlord has locked you out. it's not reasonable to stay in your home, for example you're at risk of violence or abuse.
Any room you can sleep in counts, not just bedrooms. Living room, dining rooms and studies count as rooms you can sleep in, even if you don't actually do so. A couple with a boy and a girl aged under the age of 10 in a one bedroom flat are not overcrowded (because the children are ignored).
Where in the world are Oura members getting the most sleep? The Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden come out on top, followed by the Oceanic countries, New Zealand and Australia, with the U.S., Germany, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Slovakia rounding out the top 10.
Criminal law
Rough sleeping is a criminal offence under section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 (as amended), subject to certain conditions. There is also an offence for 'being in enclosed premises for an unlawful purpose', which is used, for example, when dealing with people suspected of burglary.
If your trip isn't a planned wild camping one, or if you have to stop unexpectedly, you might have to park overnight in a layby or car park. , but overall it's not illegal to do so (or more clearly, there are no specific laws preventing it).
If you are the driver in charge of the vehicle it is illegal to sleep in it 'on the public highway' this includes laybys! Even if you take keys out of ignition, sit/lie in a place that is obviously not the driving seat, it is still not legal.
In general, it is not illegal for you to sleep in your car, provided you are parked in an appropriate safe location but there are some circumstances where you should not sleep in your vehicle.