Research and analysis

Rough sleeping data framework, March 2025

Published 5 June 2025

Applies to England

1. Main findings

The number of people seen sleeping rough over the month and on a single night is higher compared to the same time last year and at record high for this time of year.  

People sleeping rough long term are the largest group of people sleeping rough over the month. This group has also had the largest year on year increase compared to people who are new or returning to sleeping rough.

In March 2025, there were an estimated 7,718 people sleeping rough over the month. This is a 3% increase since last quarter (December 2024) and increased by 5% compared to last year (March 2024). Of these:  

• 32% were new to sleeping rough  

• 36% had been sleeping rough long term  

• 16% were accommodated  

• 13% were returning to sleeping rough and of these, 30% had moved into settled accommodation in the previous year  

• 10% had recently left an institution: 4% had recently left prison and 4% had recently left asylum support

There is a mixed picture across local authorities. In March 2025, 121 of the 296 local authorities had a decrease in the number of people seen sleeping rough over the month compared to the same time last year, in 29 areas the number of people was the same and 146 saw an increase. 

2.2 times more people sleep rough over the month compared to a single night. There were 3,438 people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in March 2025, up 2% since last quarter (December 2024) and up 11% since last year (March 2024).

Date of next publication: It is expected that the next quarterly publication of monthly data (up to June 2025) will be published in September 2025.

2. Introduction

Since May 2023, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been collecting data on metrics as part of a framework to better understand how far rough sleeping is prevented wherever possible, and where it does occur, whether it is rare, brief, and non-recurring.   

This data is relevant to people working locally to reduce rough sleeping and is an important step towards driving better outcomes for vulnerable people.   

There are eight indicators included in the framework, these are:  

Rare  

• The number of people sleeping rough (on a single night and over the course of the month). 

• The number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month who have moved into accommodation over the course of the month. 

Prevented  

• The number of new people sleeping rough (on a single night and over the course of the month).  

• The number of people sleeping rough over the month who have been discharged from institutions. 

Brief  

• The number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month who have been sleeping rough long term. 

• The number of nights on which people were seen sleeping rough. 

Non-Recurring  

• The number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month who are returning to sleeping rough.  

• The number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month who are returning to sleeping rough, who had previously moved into settled accommodation. 

Full definitions are in section 8 and further information is available in the technical note. There are a range of factors that can affect the number of people who sleep rough on any given night, for example, the availability of night shelters, the weather, and where people choose to sleep.  

The management information is largely gathered by outreach workers as part of their regular outreach activity and may also be gathered from referrals from partner agencies to help identify people that may not engage with services. This means the quality of the information is linked to the coverage and frequency of outreach activity as well as the local data systems in place to accurately track and record this information.  

The figures in this release are therefore subject to some uncertainty and should be treated as estimates.

3. Making rough sleeping rare

The number of people seen sleeping rough over the month and on a single night is higher compared to the same time last year – and at record highs for this time of year.

Estimated number of people sleeping rough over the month

There were 7,718 people estimated to be sleeping rough over the month of March 2025 – up 211 people or 3% since December 2024 and up 339 people or 5% since March 2024. This is 2.2 times higher than the number of people seen sleeping rough on a single night, illustrating that the flow of people onto and off the street over the course of a month is significantly higher than those seen on any given night due to the dynamic nature of rough sleeping.  

The rate of people sleeping rough over the month of March 2025 in England was 13.4 people per 100,000, compared to 12.8 people per 100,00 in the same period last year^{[footnote 1]}.

Estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night

There were 3,438 people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in March 2025 - up 70 people or 2% since December 2024 and up 332 people or 11% since the same period last year.  

The rate of people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in March 2025 in England was 6.0 people per 100,000 in the population, compared to 5.4 people per 100,000 in the same period last year.

Figure 1: Estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night, June 2020 to March 2025, over the month and, of each of these, which are new, October 2020 to March 2025

Source: MHCLG

Figure 2: Estimated number of people sleeping rough over the month per 100,000 people in the population, March 2025

Source: MHCLG

Estimated number of people sleeping rough who have moved into accommodation

There were 1,197 people estimated to be sleeping rough over the month who were accommodated over the course of the month (16% of the total number of people sleeping rough over the month). This was down 284 people, or 19%, since December 2024.

Figure 3: Estimated number of people sleeping rough who have moved into accommodation, June 2024 to March 2025

Source: MHCLG

4. Preventing people sleeping rough

The number of new people sleeping rough over the month is lower compared to the same time since last year and, since November, is no longer the largest group of people sleeping rough, as shown in Figure 7. 

Most people who have left an institution and are sleeping rough had left prison or asylum support. Whilst the number of people sleeping rough who have left prison in the last 85 days continues to fall, people who have recently left asylum support and are sleeping rough is around the same as its second peak last October but below the peak in December 2023. Other institution leavers who are sleeping rough remain low.

Estimated number of new people sleeping rough

There were 2,499 new people estimated to be sleeping rough over the month in March 2025 (32% of total people sleeping rough over the month) - up 12% since December 2024 and down 2% since March 2024.  

There were 804 new people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in March 2025 (23% of total people sleeping rough on a single night) - up 3% since December 2024 and down 2% on the same period last year.

Estimated number of people sleeping rough who have left an institution

There were 808 people estimated to be sleeping rough over the month in March 2025 who had left an institution, 10% of the total number of people sleeping rough over the month.   

The majority of people sleeping rough who have recently left an institution had left prison or asylum support in the last 85 days. The number of people who have left these institutions also varies over time. In March 2025, 325 people had left prison (4% of total people sleeping rough over the month). This has been falling since July 2024 when the number of people peaked at 450. There were also 321 people who had left asylum support, (4% of total people sleeping rough over the month). The number of people sleeping rough who had recently left asylum support peaked at 469 people in December 2023. Since then, it fell to 121 people in August 2024 with another large increase up to 329 people in October 2024, which is similar to current levels. 

There is much less change in number of people sleeping rough who have left other institutions, and the numbers are much lower, than the number of people from prison and asylum support. In March 2025, of those people sleeping rough 79 people had left a general or psychiatric hospital in the last 85 days, 57 people were care leavers under the age of 25 and 26 people had left other justice accommodation in the last 85 days. There were no people sleeping rough who had left the UK Armed Forces in the last 85 days, the first time this has been zero.

Figure 4: Estimated number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month who have left an institution, May 2023 to March 2025

Source: MHCLG

5. Making rough sleeping brief

People sleeping rough long term are the largest group of people sleeping rough and are also the group with the largest increase compared to the same time last year. 

The number of nights people are seen sleeping rough within a 6 month period remains similar to previous months, and people sleeping rough who are only seen on one night are the largest group.

Estimated number of people sleeping rough who are long term

There were 2,781 people estimated to be sleeping rough over the month in March 2025 who had been sleeping rough long term (36% of the total number of people sleeping rough over the month). This is up by 11% compared to March 2024. In October 2024, people sleeping rough long term became the largest group, prior to this the largest group was people new to sleeping rough.

Estimated number of nights people seen sleeping rough over the previous 6 months

The estimated number of nights people are seen sleeping rough over previous 6 months is consistent with previous months. The largest group are people who are seen on one night in the previous 6 months and have been the largest group since this was first collected in June 2024. 29% of the number of people sleeping rough over the month in March 2025 were seen sleeping rough for one night over the last 6 months.

Figure 5: Number of nights people estimated to have been seen sleeping rough over the last 6 months, March 2025

Source: MHCLG

6. Making rough sleeping a non-recurring experience

The number of people returning to rough sleeping has increased compared to the same time last year. 

There were 1,021 people estimated to be returning to sleeping rough over the month in March 2025, 13% of the total number of people seen sleeping rough over the month. This is up 9% since last quarter (December 2024) and up 6% since last year (March 2024).

• Of these, 302 (30% of all those returning to sleeping rough) were returning to sleeping rough after moving into settled accommodation in the preceding 12 months. This is up 28 people (or 10%) since December 2024.

Figure 6: Estimated number of people returning to sleeping rough, May 2023 to March 2025, including those returning to sleeping rough after moving into settled accommodation, June 2024 to March 2025

Source: MHCLG

7. Overall trends

Figure 7: Estimated number of people sleeping rough over the month who were sleeping rough long term, new to sleeping rough, were returning to sleeping rough and had left institutions, May 2023 to March 2025

Source: MHCLG

Of those sleeping rough over the month, the largest group were people who had been sleeping rough long term, followed by those who were new to sleeping rough and those returning to sleeping rough. There has also been a larger increase in the number of people sleeping rough long-term, up 11% compared to March 2024, whereas the number of people returning to sleeping rough is up 6% and those who were new to sleeping rough has fallen by 2%^{[footnote 2]}.

8. Definitions

New people sleeping rough

A person is considered ‘new’ if they have not been seen sleeping rough in the local authority in the 5 calendar years (60 months) preceding the date they were seen sleeping rough during the current reporting period. If a person was seen more than 5 years previously, they are to be counted as ‘New’. If there is no historical data available for the last 5 years, people seen sleeping rough for the first time should be counted as ‘New’ whilst a historical database is compiled. 

Prior to May 2023, the definition was less specific in terms of time period, and a person was considered new if they were not known to local authority outreach teams and other support services.

People sleeping rough who have been discharged from an institution

A person is counted as having left an institution recently if they report having been discharged from any of the below within the last 85 days (12 weeks + 1 day): 

• Prisons (adult and youth) 

• Other justice accommodation e.g. accommodation provided by the National Probation Service (i.e. Approved Premises) 

• General and psychiatric hospitals 

• Discharged from the UK Armed Forces 

• Asylum support (previously ‘National Asylum Support Services Accommodation’) 

The 85 day period is based on Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 (CAS3) which provides temporary accommodation for up to 84 nights for homeless prison leavers and those moving on from Approved Premises to help them move into settled accommodation. This is designed to improve partnership working between homelessness and rough sleeping services and institutions to ensure people recently leaving institutions have suitable accommodation pathways. People under 25 who are care leavers are also included but the 85 day timeframe does not apply.

People sleeping rough

People sleeping rough are defined as: 

• People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or bedded down in the open air (such as on the street, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). 

• People in buildings or other places not designed to for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations or “bashes” which are makeshift shelters often comprised of cardboard boxes). 

The definition does not include: 

• People in hostels or shelters 

• People in campsites or other sites used for recreational purposes or organised protest 

• Squatters 

• Travellers

Bedded down is taken to mean either lying down or sleeping. About to bed down includes those who are sitting in/on or near a sleeping bag or other bedding.

This is the same definition as is used for the annual rough sleeping snapshot statistics. 

The number of people sleeping rough on a single night is an estimated figure determined from outreach contacts, or from a ‘Point-in-Time’ snapshot. 

The number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month is an estimated figure based on outreach contacts.

Number of people sleeping rough who have moved into accommodation

This is an estimate of the number of people seen sleeping rough over the month who have moved into accommodation over the course of the month, not including those accommodated under severe weather emergency protocols (SWEP).

People sleeping rough long term

Long term rough sleeping is defined as the number of people seen recently (within the reporting month) who have been seen sleeping rough in 3 or more months out of the last 12 months (1 year).

Number of nights seen sleeping rough

For each person seen sleeping rough over the month, the number of nights over the last 6 months (180 days) on which each person was seen sleeping rough is categorised as follows: 

• 1 night 

• 2 nights 

• 3-5 nights 

• 6-10 nights 

• More than 10 nights 

• An unknown number of nights

People returning to sleeping rough

A person is considered a ‘returner’ if they are seen sleeping rough again after no contact for 2 or more quarters (180 days), whichever is shorter, measured from the last date the person was seen.

Number of people sleeping rough who had previously moved into settled accommodation

For a person to be counted under this indicator, they should be returning to sleeping rough after no contact of 2 or more quarters (180 days) (as in NR1), they should have been seen in the previous 5 years (i.e., they don’t meet the criteria for P1), and they should have been moved into settled accommodation, defined as accommodation intended to last for an extended period of time and including the following categories: 

• Social rented sector (including council tenancy, registered providers) 

• Supported Accommodation (including Housing First, care homes, and other supported accommodation pathways) 

• Hostels (including reception centres, emergency units and refuges) with accommodation for longer than 6 months 

• Private rented sector (with an Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement) 

• Staying with family or friends 

• Owner-occupier 

• Returned to home country

Potential overlaps in groups

There is the potential for some overlap between new people sleeping rough over the month and people returning to sleeping rough if a person found sleeping rough returns to sleeping rough after not being seen for more than five years. There is also potential for some overlap between the long term and returner indicators if a person has not been seen sleeping rough for the last 6 months, but in the 6 months previous was seen 2 further times, this would mean this person is both a long-term rough sleeper and a returner. Not all people seen sleeping rough over the month, are included in new people sleeping rough over the month, people sleeping rough long term or people returning to sleeping rough. People who have left an institution may also overlap all of those categories.

9. Things you need to know

• The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have been collecting monthly management information from all local authorities in England about the support for people sleeping rough and those at risk of sleeping rough, since May 2020, alongside the annual rough sleeping snapshot statistics. 

• On average, 96% of areas provide a response each month and for those areas that do not provide data, imputed figures based on previous management information has been used. 

• This monthly management information, provided by local authorities, includes a more frequent although less robust estimate of people sleeping rough on a single night, compared to the annual official rough sleeping snapshot statistics. The official statistics are collated by outreach workers, local charities and community groups and are independently verified by Homeless Link. 

• The management information also provides an estimate of the number of people sleeping rough over the course of the month in each local authority to better understand the flow of people sleeping rough. This figure is based on casework done by outreach teams and other service providers.

10. Enquiries 

Media

Telephone: 0303 444 1209 

Email: newsdesk@communities.gov.uk 

Statistical enquiries

Telephone: 0303 444 2623 

Email: roughsleepingstatistics@communities.gov.uk 

Responsible analysts

Jon White, Millie Brown

Information on Official Statistics is available via the UK Statistics Authority website. 

Information about statistics at MHCLG is available via the department’s website.

1. Based on ONS mid-2023 population estimates. ↩

2. These indicators are not mutually exclusive, and some overlaps can occur between the different indicators. Please refer to definitions. ↩