Housing minister Grant Shapps has changed the way local areas assess the number of people sleeping rough, to more accurately assess the scale of the problem and put councils and homeless charities centre stage in the process. Previously, only councils in presumed hotspot areas were required to conduct official rough sleeper counts - meaning that only 70 councils submitted information to central Government. Figures published in July showed that under this previous method, on any given night there were just 440 rough sleepers in England. However, for the first time areas which did not physically count were asked to provide estimates this spring and when the figures from these 256 councils were included a further estimated 807 rough sleepers were found - taking the national total to 1,247 rough sleepers on any given night. All councils across England will now provide information on rough sleeping. This move follows consultation with homelessness charities and councils and is aimed at getting a clearer picture of the scale of the problem in each area so more targeted support can be provided to some of the most vulnerable in society. Read more on the CLG website.
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