Figures from the November 2024 Street Count released in February 2025 show that rough sleeping in Norwich has increased by 140% and in Norfolk by 266%
12 people were found sleeping rough in Norwich on one particular night in November 2024. These official government figures are snapshot data of one night in the UK and are verified and collated for the whole country to show an annual figure. The data show
s a rise of 129% on the previous year in England and Wales from 2898 people in 2023 to 4667 people in 2024.
Dr Jan Sheldon, Chief Executive of St Martins said, “The government had been warned that unless urgent action is taken these figures will continue to rise, and this is exactly what we’ve seen.”
“In previous years we were pleased to see that Norwich bucked the trend and the number of people sleeping rough on our city’s streets was reducing, thanks to the hard work of St Martins and our local partners. This is no longer the case, it’s a national scandal but even more importantly it’s a personal catastrophe for people who find themselves with no other option but to sleep rough.”
The official figures account for people seen bedded down. In Norwich a team of people check the streets and known sleeping sites, and this process is repeated across the country. Jan said, “The data is useful and can be relied upon to show local trends year on year. However, it shows only us what happened on one particular night three months ago. It won’t necessarily account for everybody, such as people sleeping in cars, out buildings or some locations away from the city, so even the figures we’re working with are a conservative assessment.”
The official figures were released on February 27th and show the scale of the issue. Jan said, “We are disappointed but not surprised that there has been an increase in nearly every region. In Norwich we have seen numbers of people on the street steadily creeping up, compounded by the additional issue of social care mental health services under pressure. The Pathways service in Norwich continues its regular outreach to people sleeping rough. We remain concerned about people we are unable to accommodate, and the sad consequence is that if they don’t get the support they need, more people will die on our streets.”
Homelessness is not always a housing issue; some people sleeping rough are unwell and need specialist social care and mental health support. A hostel environment or even a self-contained flat is not a sufficient solution. Part of the intensive work St Martins does is to identify the root cause of homelessness, understand the challenges and barriers and work with each person to remove the barriers and prevent further incidences of homelessness and rough sleeping.
The government has promised to build 1.5 million homes and to prioritise social housing. Jan said, “These are two measures that are desperately needed. However, this takes time, and will be too late for people who are currently sleeping rough and risk becoming entrenched in homelessness.”
Rough sleeping is dangerous; people sleeping on the streets are 17 times more likely to suffer violence or abuse than people living in accommodation. Unsurprisingly, people on the streets often have or develop poor mental health.
Homelessness is rarely about the housing; it is primarily linked to the support needs and challenges faced by the individual.