Leader – Waking up to the problem of rough sleeping

Anyone who walks around with their eyes open will notice people sleeping on the streets. Anecdotal evidence of an increase is borne out by the figures, which show recent rises in both homelessness and numbers sleeping rough.

Hackney Council now has a strategy for tackling rough sleeping.

In a nod to the outcry over its hastily withdrawn Public Space Protection Order banning bedding down in parks and the like, the Town Hall now categorically says it will never take enforcement action in relation to street homelessness per se.

The strategy contains an ambitious pledge to bring the number of people sleeping rough in Hackney to zero within three years. The nightly number of recorded rough sleepers has almost doubled from 2014 to 2015, with 20 recorded in the latter year, but even if this is undercounted, the pledge could be achievable. It is in any case a noble aspiration.

Also encouraging are beefed up “corporate priorities” set out by Mayor Philip Glanville. They mention tackling inequality and working in partnership with all agencies to address rough sleeping.

Most rough sleepers are single, male and aged under 45, and the majority are classed as “non-priority” under current legislation.

But while the council’s strategy is all well and good, Tory welfare reforms could further swell the numbers on the streets.