Rochdale only borough in whole of Greater Manchester to reduce number of rough sleepers

Rochdale is the only borough in Greater Manchester which has reduced the number of rough sleepers since 2010, new official government figures published on Thursday (31 January) show.

On the night of the national rough sleeper count last November, all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs’ figures combined showed 241 people sleeping outdoors, a reduction of 13% over the last 12 months.

The national rough sleeper count takes place every year on one night in November, with local authorities up and down the country submitting data to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). Figures are independently verified and the MHCLG subsequently publishes nationwide data early the following year.

These figures give the best indication of the numbers of rough sleepers on our streets, but it is generally accepted that the actual number is higher.

Just three people were recorded sleeping rough in Rochdale in November 2018, a 40% reduction from figures taken eight years earlier – the only reduction recorded across any of the boroughs since 2010.

Councillor Daalat Ali, Cabinet Member for Planning, Development & Housing at Rochdale Borough Council said: "We have worked hard over a number of years to build strong relationships with partner organisations, the voluntary sector and charities to support people at risk of sleeping rough.

“Although there is no lack of services or places to stay in our borough, the challenge is growing and this year we have doubled our usual winter provision. Unfortunately, savage government cuts to our funding and poorly thought-out policies like Universal Credit are making it harder and harder to keep people off the streets, and to find long-term solutions for those that once were.

“The increases in demand for housing we are seeing makes it increasingly difficult for those in most need to find somewhere that is available and affordable. Many find themselves excluded from social housing and some landlords charge exorbitant rents that people simply cannot afford.

“We are doing everything we can to work through these challenges and former rough sleepers are helping to develop the Real Change Rochdale project to help generate funds and build a partnership that continue to support vulnerable people.

“However, we must be realistic and say that there needs to be wholesale changes to housing policy at a national level to solve this problem and bring about lasting change."

Mayor Andy Burnham, who has pledged to end the need for rough sleeping by 2020, said: “Tackling rough sleeping in Greater Manchester remains a huge challenge – our approach can always improve but I am confident that for the first time in a long-time real progress is being made. We are helping people turn their lives around and, in many cases, saving them.

“We are leading the way on this issue in Greater Manchester – in contrast to many other cities’ and city-regions’ figures our numbers have declined over the past 12 months, the first time that has happened here since 2010. I call on Government to recognise the success of our strategy and adopt it as the nationwide approach to tackling rough sleeping.”

“These figures from Government demonstrate that in Greater Manchester, the tide is turning.

“The fact that more than 200 people are still sleeping rough in our region in this day and age is completely unacceptable and there is still much work to do. This is a humanitarian crisis, not of our own making, and there is no easy solution.”