The number of homeless people sleeping rough is measured separately from statutory homelessness statistics through local authority street counts.
Street counts provide a useful snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on a single night but are best regarded as indicators of trends, rather than exact numbers of homeless men and women who sleep rough. The annual estimate of the numbers sleeping out in England on any single night is published in September each year.
St Mungo's is deeply concerned about the worrying trend of rising rough sleep numbers in London.
Read a briefing paper on Homelessness trends and predictions (December 2010) prepared by Shelter, Crisis, Homeless Link and St Mungo's, and find all of our publications and research here.
Read more about our work supporting homeless women in our Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign.