Andy Burnham’s pledge to tackle rough sleeping by getting “everyone in for Christmas” is in jeopardy amid rising numbers of people on the streets and a severe housing shortage.
Official figures show an increase of nearly 1,000 people sleeping rough in England between January and June, the latest month for which figures are available.
There were 8,748 rough sleepers in England in June, the highest number since November 2025, according to government statistics.
Only 15% of those were found accommodation by the end of June, the lowest level since August 2025 as councils struggle with the growing demand for temporary and affordable housing.
The homelessness minister, Florence Eshalomi, said the government hoped to offer a bed to every rough sleeper by Christmas but that there was a chronic shortage of suitable housing.
Asked whether every person on the streets in England would be offered accommodation in the next six weeks, she said: “We’re hoping to offer that, but what we are definitely offering is a route off the street for everyone who wants to take up that offer.”
A “route off the street” may not necessarily involve housing, Eshalomi said.
“For some people it will be a route into accommodation, for some people it could be a … dedicated plan around their mental health or substance misuse, so that’s what we are committed to.
“The offer of a bed will be there for people who want that. We cannot force people off the streets – we’ve got to respect that as well – but that offer will be there.”
Burnham has pledged to offer every rough sleeper in England a safe route off the streets or wider support as a central part of his premiership.
Councils across England have said the number of homeless families is growing as a result of the chronic shortage of affordable housing, record demand for temporary accommodation and the long-term freeze of local housing allowance, meaning rents far outstrip the welfare available to those on low incomes.
Frontline professionals are also concerned about the impact of the prisons early release scheme, with some offenders being released without stable accommodation, as well as a flood of no-fault evictions before the practice was banned on 1 May.
A record 135,600 households in England were living in temporary accommodation such as B&Bs and hostels at the end of March 2026, according to official figures. This is about 90% higher than a decade ago and 4% higher than the previous year.
In a speech in Downing Street when he became prime minister on 20 July, Burnham said: “I will soon go through that door behind me and issue my first instruction: to end rough sleeping in our country.”
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The next month, he announced increased funding of £442m as part of what he called the “national drive to get everyone in for Christmas”.
In October he set out a further £432m in funding from March 2027 so that people would be “offered a safe route off the streets this winter” and support to the end of this parliament.
Eshalomi, who was appointed by Burnham in July, previously described the freeze of local housing allowance as one of the “systemic barriers” and a “big sticking point” in reducing homelessness.
Speaking on a visit to a temporary accommodation facility in Manchester last week, she said the area was not “best policy” and that she raised it “constantly with colleagues … with the Treasury”.
Asked whether she raised it with fellow ministers before John Healey’s budget last month, she said: “I’ve been an MP since 2019. I’ve been raising it since then.”
Eshalomi said she was working with councils and housing associations in England to bring thousands of empty or derelict properties into use to help tackle rough sleeping.
She said ultimately the solution was “building those homes”.
“It’s around making sure we’re building more social and affordable homes so that people don’t have to find themselves choosing between not having enough money and support to live in a private rented sector.”
