Professor John Robertson OBA
I’m not for a minute excusing any level of homelessness but, if these data were the other way round, we all know who’d be blamed and blamed repeatedly.
From BBC Politics, today, the above and:
The number of homeless people in England is higher than official government data suggests, according to new research from the charity Crisis. They say that around 189,000 families and individuals who faced the worst forms of homelessness such as rough sleeping, sofa surfing and living in tents were not included in official statistics.
Official data is based on people declaring themselves as homeless to a local authority, which Crisis says often does not happen. The government says it is investing £1bn in homelessness services in 2025/26, a £316m increase on the previous year. The charity says the number of people facing the worst forms of homelessness [in 2024]has grown by a fifth since 2022 and now stands at around 300,000. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ex5r4q82qo
The Crisis report, confirming the above is at:
https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/crisis-media-centre/england-monitor-2025/
A year earlier, so limiting the comparison somewhat, Crisis had for Scotland:
The most severe and immediate forms of homelessness (“core” homelessness e.g., rough sleeping, sofa surfing, staying in hostels, refuges or unsuitable forms of temporary accommodation) have risen by 11% since 2020 to an estimated 18,400 households.
So, with 10 times the population, the figure for England might have been around 180 000 but it is 300 000.
Keeping in mind the limitations, the rate in England, is thus 66%, two thirds higher.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 