What does the pledge mean?
Rough sleeping is a form of homelessness defined by the UK government as people sleeping, or someone who is about to bed down, in “the open air” such as on the street, in parks, bus shelters, tents, doorways or other places that have not been designed for habitation such as stairwells. It doesn’t include people who are in hostels or shelters, or the hidden homeless.
Speaking outside Number 10 on the day he became Prime Minister, Andy Burnham said his first instruction would be “to end rough sleeping in our country.” In a press release issued the same day, he said: “I’m announcing this government’s commitment to finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK at the earliest opportunity.”
Some of the language used across this announcement was unclear, particularly the exact type of rough sleeping the pledge applied to and the locations it covered.
We asked the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) if the pledge referred just to long-term rough sleeping or to both short and long-term rough sleeping, and it told us it was for both.
We also asked about the implication in the press release that the pledge refers to the entirety of the UK, despite homelessness policies being devolved and the fact each nation has its own methods of counting rough sleeping.
The MHCLG told us it will only be measuring rough sleeping in England, and acknowledged the devolved nations are responsible for their own policies. As such, we will be monitoring progress against this pledge using rough sleeping data for England.
This isn’t the first time we’ve found that the government has been unclear on the parameters of a pledge. And while we welcome the fact that more detail has since been provided, it’s important that such commitments are set out clearly to avoid confusion for voters.
Rough sleeping in England is typically measured in two main ways by the government—the rough sleeping snapshot survey, which estimates the number of people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn each year, and the rough sleeping data framework, which uses monthly information from all local authorities in England.
At the time the pledge was made, the latest rough sleeping snapshot estimated 4,793 people were sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025, while data framework figures estimated that in March 2026 7,541 people in England were sleeping rough.
It’s worth noting rough sleeping statistics are considered to underestimate “the true extent of rough sleeping” because they don’t account for all forms of homelessness and are thought to undercount some populations, such as women.
The government says the data framework figures are “subject to some uncertainty and should be treated as estimates” as they’re “linked to the coverage and frequency of outreach activity as well as the local data systems in place to accurately track and record this information”.
We’ve asked the MHCLG which of the two measures will be used to monitor the pledge.
No specific deadline was given for the pledge, though both the government’s initial press release and a blog published later the same week by the MHCLG referred to a broader five-year programme focused on homelessness.
We’ve also asked the MHCLG if it still stands by a previous commitment made by Sir Keir Starmer’s government to halve the number of long-term rough sleepers in England by the end of this parliament.
What progress has been made?
We’re rating this pledge as “wait and see” because while funding has been announced and the government has said it’s taking “immediate action”, it’s too early to say how estimated levels of rough sleeping have changed in England since the pledge was made.
The government said its pledge would be supported by additional funding in England, and referred to “a wider five-year programme” that will support “thousands of the people facing the most severe and long-term homelessness”.
It told us that devolved governments will receive Barnett consequentials on the homelessness and rough sleeping funding.
The MHCLG said that its initial investment will fund 1,200 homes for long-term rough sleepers and provide “intensive support” to get “at least 3,000 people” off the streets and into stable housing, as well as “immediate action” to help long-term rough sleepers move from the streets into secure accommodation.
In August, the government announced that new accommodation and support will be brought in across England, and that “everyone sleeping rough is to be offered a route off the streets this winter if they need it.” A national summit bringing together various groups including charities, business, health, and faith communities is also planned for autumn.
It also announced £102 million of funding that will go towards this, on top of funding announced in July. This brings the total new funding for these two announcements to £442 million, which the government said comes from “uncommitted MHCLG budgets”.
