'Consign it to history': Sadiq Khan pledges to end rough sleeping in London by 2030

London mayor Sadiq Khan has vowed to eliminate rough sleeping in London, where the number of people on the streets has soared to record highs.

At least 4,389 people slept rough in the capital between October and January – the highest figure recorded since City Hall started keeping records in 2014.  

On Monday (15 April), Khan described the figures as a “horror” – and pledged to “consign [rough sleeping] to history” within the decade.

• We’d need to build 36 Milton Keyneses to solve UK housing crisis. Are new towns really the answer?
• Amy’s Place: How a ‘beautiful’ housing project giving hope became Amy Winehouse’s real legacy

The manifesto commitment comes just weeks ahead of the 2 May mayoral election, which will see Khan bid for a third term in office against Tory challenger Susan Hall.

“A vote for Labour on 2 May is a vote to end the indignity, fear and isolation felt by those forced to endure a life on the street once and for all”, Khan said. “We can and will end rough sleeping for good.”

City Hall’s rough sleeping budget has gone up from £8.45m in 2016 to £36.3m in 2023. In his announcement, Sadiq Khan pledged an additional £10m over the next three years. The money will go toward doubling the number of “Ending Homelessness Hubs.”

This support will “help an additional 1,700 rough sleepers off the streets annually by the end of [the mayor’s next term in office in 2028]”, the mayor’s team said, “providing specialist assessment and support to help people rebuild their lives.”

“For those who say it can’t be achieved, your memories are short,” the mayor added – pointing out that rough sleeping was brought down significantly before 2010. However, Conservative rule has undone this progress, he said.

“I’ll be the first to admit that our efforts haven’t been enough. Despite everything we have done, the Tories are exacerbating this crisis faster than we can ease it,” he warned.

Rough sleeping has more than doubled across Britain since 2010. In London, the fourth quarter of 2023 saw a 23% year-on-year increase in rough sleeping. On an average night, at least 1,100 Londoners are on the streets – while tens of thousands more are stuck in insecure temporary accommodation.

The broader issue in London is lack of housing. 15 April also marks the fifth anniversary of the Conservatives’ promise to end ‘no fault’ evictions. In London alone, more than 30,000 renting households have faced a no-fault eviction claim since the pledge was made.

The mayor said the lack of housing meant that one child in every London classroom was “without a place they can call home”. Labour has promised to build 40,000 more homes by the end of the decade.

Advocates welcomed the announcement from Sadiq Khan – but said that a broader national strategy is needed to properly end homelessness.

“Rough sleeping rightly generates the most coverage, but the level of homelessness more widely is both a moral scandal and deeply-rooted political problem that can’t be solved by piecemeal pots of money,” said Dr Tom Kerridge, Centrepoint’s policy and research manager.

“Currently, even the relatively high levels of investment are not keeping pace with the increasing number of people facing homelessness and the record levels of people who already with nowhere safe to stay.” 

New research commissioned by the charity has found that local authorities in England are facing a £332m annual shortfall in youth homelessness funding.