The number of people recorded sleeping rough in London has hit yet a new record high for the time of year, according to the latest statistics. Data published on Friday showed that a total of 4,612 people were recorded rough sleeping between October and December 2024 - a rise of five per cent on the same period in 2023. It is the highest number of people ever recorded sleeping rough during those months of the year, and is only slightly lower than the 4,780 people recorded in July-September 2024.

Sir Sadiq Khan’s office said the mayor is doing “everything in his power” to turn the crisis around, pointing out that he announced an unprecedented £10m investment in homelessness hubs earlier this week. The Labour Government said it had “inherited a terrible rough sleeping situation across London” from the Conservatives but insisted it was “taking action to get back on track to ending homelessness for good”.

The statistics, collected by City Hall’s Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), reveal that of the 4,612 rough sleepers recorded in the final three months of last year, some 2,115 were sleeping rough for the first time - though most of that group were only recorded sleeping rough for a single night, rather than remaining on the streets. Among those for whom it was possible to determine their citizenship, most were not UK nationals.

Only 47.1 per cent were British citizens, with the second-largest cohort being Romanian immigrants (8.9 per cent) and the third-largest group made up of people from Poland (5.3 per cent). Some 4.6 per cent were from India, another 4.6 per cent from Eritrea and 3.6 per cent had come from Sudan. The vast majority of rough sleepers - about 83 per cent - were men. Most were also middle-aged or older, though about a third of the total (34 per cent) were aged 35 or under.

Some 1,767 of those recorded rough sleeping in the period were also assessed as having a mental health need - though an assessment was only carried out for about three quarters of the total, so the true figure will have been higher. "That the latest rough sleeping figures for London have continued to rise is incredibly concerning,” said Emma Haddad, chief executive of the homeless charity St Mungo’s.

“Behind every number is a person who has spent the night on the pavement in winter. Our teams are supporting people off the streets as quickly as possible, and they will continue to do so. But we simply have to change the system so that people are getting help that prevents them having to sleep rough in the first place. “A homelessness system focused on prevention means no one released from prison or hospital or care onto the streets; no one evicted from their accommodation because the landlord wants to double the rent; no one unable to find anywhere affordable to live because housing benefit has been frozen.

“There are tangible things that would prevent people having no choice but to sleep rough, and we know they are achievable by working together.". Responding to the data, a spokeswoman for the Mayor of London said: “The number of people sleeping on the streets in our capital and across the country is a shameful legacy of the last Government, and will take time to turn around. “The mayor is doing everything in his power to help Londoners off the streets and into more secure accommodation. Just this week, he delivered the biggest ever single investment of £10m to tackle the capital’s rough sleeping crisis – more than any London mayor – to expand the number of homelessness hubs across the capital. He has also quadrupled City Hall’s rough sleeping budget since 2016, supporting over 18,000 people off the streets to date.

“Sadiq remains committed to his mission of ending rough sleeping in the capital by 2030, but is clear that every sector from society will need to step up and play its part.”. A spokesman at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The Government has inherited a terrible rough sleeping situation across London but we are taking action to get back on track to ending homelessness for good.