Rising rough sleeping puts Burnham’s Christmas housing pledge under pressure

Andy Burnham’s promise to get everyone sleeping rough indoors by Christmas faces mounting pressure as homelessness rises across England and councils struggle to secure accommodation. Government figures recorded 8,748 people sleeping rough in June, almost 1,000 more than in January and the highest total since November 2025.

June is the latest month covered by the statistics. Just 15% of those recorded sleeping rough had been found accommodation by the month’s end, the lowest proportion since August 2025. The figures come as local authorities contend with increasing demand for both temporary accommodation and affordable homes.

Homelessness minister Florence Eshalomi said the government hoped to offer every rough sleeper a bed by Christmas, while acknowledging a chronic shortage of suitable housing. Asked whether everyone on England’s streets would receive an accommodation offer within six weeks, she said the firm commitment was to provide a route off the streets for anyone willing to accept it.

That support would not always mean immediate housing, Eshalomi explained. For some people, it could involve accommodation, while others might receive a dedicated plan addressing mental health needs or substance misuse. She said beds would be offered to those who wanted them, but stressed that people could not be forced to leave the streets.

Burnham made ending rough sleeping a central commitment when he became prime minister on 20 July. Speaking outside Downing Street, he said it would be his first instruction. In August, he announced increased funding of £442m for the Christmas effort. A further £432m, announced in October and available from March 2027, was intended to support a safe route off the streets this winter and assistance through the end of the parliament.

Councils say the growing number of homeless families reflects a persistent lack of affordable housing, record pressure on temporary accommodation and the long-running freeze in local housing allowance. They say rents have moved far beyond the welfare support available to people on low incomes. Frontline workers have also raised concerns about prisoners being released early without stable accommodation and a surge in no-fault evictions before their ban on 1 May.

Official figures show that a record 135,600 households in England were in temporary accommodation, including hostels and B&Bs, at the end of March 2026. That was approximately 90% above the level a decade earlier and 4% higher than a year before.

During a visit to temporary accommodation in Manchester last week, Eshalomi said she repeatedly raised local housing allowance with colleagues and the Treasury. She has previously called its freeze a systemic barrier to reducing homelessness. Asked whether she had raised it before John Healey’s budget last month, she said she had been doing so since becoming an MP in 2019.

Eshalomi said work with councils and housing associations was aimed at returning thousands of vacant or derelict properties to use. She said the lasting solution required more social and affordable housing, so people would not be left struggling to afford life in the private rented sector.