New data shows slight decline in rough sleeping in London, but long-term rough sleeping continues to rise

The Greater London Authority has released its annual Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) bulletin, providing a detailed picture of rough sleeping across the capital.

Below, our CEO Pam reflects on what the latest figures reveal about the state of rough sleeping in London.

Overview of rough sleeping in London

Last week, the 2025/6 CHAIN statistics on rough sleeping in London were produced. We are incredibly lucky to have this data, which has been produced annually and quarterly for 20 years (and probably more).

While the data may not capture every person sleeping rough in the capital, it provides a valuable insight into trends and emerging challenges. CHAIN data is also available for London boroughs, including Westminster where The Connection is based. The people we work with includes many Westminster rough sleepers but also people from all around London, the UK and the world.

The great news is that after several years of alarming increases, rough sleeping is down overall in London by 2% at 12,938 and just over 1% in Westminster at 2,583. Although new rough sleepers and those returning to the streets are down, long-term rough sleeping is up. People who have been on the streets for two years or more In Westminster now totals 842 people. Four years ago, this number was 564. This means there’s a third more people living on the streets and we are really concerned about that. The data also shows that there are more people in Westminster who are seen more frequently by outreach teams.

Demographics of rough sleepers

There is a marked increase in people experiencing homelessness from African and Asian countries, mainly because they have left Home Office asylum support accommodation and have now been given refugee status. Women still make up 20% of Westminster’s rough sleepers and the proportion has increased to 18% from 16% across London. People with a background in care make up 5.5% of London’s rough sleeping population, with 19% leaving prison. Only 1% come from the UK armed forces.

There’s an urgent need for greater long-term accommodation in Westminster

About two thirds of London’s rough sleepers move into some form of accommodation and there has been a significant increase in long-term accommodation outcomes (define as those living in stable accommodation for over 12 months) at 1,451 over the year. This is 11% of all rough sleepers and is hopefully the beginning of an upward trend. Sadly, this is not the picture in Westminster where only 2% of rough sleepers move into long-term accommodation – that’s 39 people last year.

What we’re doing about it at The Connection

The picture in London reflects national progress on tackling homelessness and rough sleeping in England. Temporary accommodation is stabilising and the numbers of new rough sleepers are starting to reduce. However, long-term rough sleeping continues to rise and this is the main focus of our work at The Connection. We are focusing on:

  • Improving our offer at our main day centre at Adelaide Street, with a strong focus on working jointly with health services to minimise the harm associated with rough sleeping. We are particularly keen to see more mental health and addiction treatment options for our clients.
  • Extending the opening hours of our centre during periods of severe hot and cold weather and using this as an opportunity to reach out and build relationships. We are also running an intensive engagement hub with overnight shelter with small groups of long-term rough sleepers who are of particular concern due to their health and vulnerability.
  • Increasing access to accommodation with our Solo Homes initiative. Although numbers are still small (since February 2025 we have supported eight long-term rough sleepers into their own long-term tenancy), they are promising and everyone has kept their home. Our approach is working because we have such strong relationships of trust and understanding with the people we work with. We are delighted with this result and really appreciate the faith put in us from four supporting social landlords.
  • Developing more services for women, including plans for a women-only day centre and additional medium- and long-term accommodation.

    • Help us make London a city where no one sleeps on the streets

    We are proud to be playing our part in reducing rough sleeping across the capital and there is lots of work to be done. What we are doing is working and you can make a real difference and help us grow our impact by supporting us.