Fears grow for 'unprecedented numbers' of rough sleepers in Liverpool as temperatures plummet

With temperatures dropping in Liverpool, concerns are growing about the 'unprecedented' numbers of people sleeping rough in the city.

On Monday, the council activated what is known as the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which means emergency action is taken to get people off the streets during dangerous weather. The council works with the Whitechapel Centre homeless charity to try and identify those on the streets and get them safely into shelter.

The cold weather brings an added pressure to an already extremely difficult situation around homelessness and rough sleeping in Liverpool. The crisis in the city is growing, with shocking new data demonstrating how many people are now homeless and needing support.

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The latest rough sleeping data shows the number of long-term rough sleepers in the city has risen by more than 40% in the past two years. Last month (October), an average of 29 rough sleepers were seen per night.

But of course homelessness isn't only about those bedding down on the streets, there are huge numbers of people currently living in temporary and emergency accommodation, which brings a huge financial pressure to the cash-strapped council.

The current figure for households in the city in temporary accommodation stands at 1,245. Last year the cost of supporting those in temporary housing cost the cash-strapped local authority more than £21m - an enormous 12,000 per cent increase on the previous five years. This year that figure is set to rise to £28m.

Speaking on BBC Radio Merseyside this morning, the city council's cabinet member for housing, Cllr Sam East, spoke about the scale and causes of the crisis. He said: "It is a complex issue, there are a number of things like the explosion of the cost of living and I would also point the finger at the Section 21 no fault evictions, which is something that the new government has promised to make illegal and that is something we would absolutely welcome because we have seen a serious increase in evictions from private rented properties which is certainly impacting on the homelessness duties that the council must provide."

Cllr East added: "It is a moral imperative in a rich country to get people off the streets and it is appalling that this is a conversation we have to have. To put this in context, last year the council spent £21m across the spectrum of homelessness, which is up from around £250k before the pandemic. This year it is forecast to touch nearly £30m."

"It is absolutely untenable in the long-term and a huge amount of that cost is absorbed by emergency, temporary accommodation, which unfortunately often tends to be in B and B's. The council is doing a huge amount of work to try and bring down the amount of nights people are staying in this type of accommodation. It is simply not a suitable form of accommodation for people and is also a huge financial pressure for the council."

"Homelessness is the council's statutory responsibility but it is everyone's problem and it is a stain on a modern society. When members of the public see someone homeless, please get in touch with the council. We activated the Severe Weather Activation Protocol last night. This is everyone's problem and we will work with everyone to try and resolve it."

The city council has received £200,000 from government to help protect rough sleepers this winter. Cllr East confirmed the plan to use the money to reopen a homeless hub this winter. He added: "It is absolutely our ambition to do that. The money has come through from central government, we are making really good progress implementing the learning from last year's assessment hub. There are some details to be ironed out but we hope to be making a positive announcement on this very soon.

Liverpool Council has now launched a public consultation on its proposals to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the city. The council has set out a draft five-year strategy outlining a number of plans for the prevention of homelessness and for ensuring sufficient accommodation and support is available.