Andrew Dismore

Rough sleeping in Barnet rose by 89% between April 2019 and March 2020, compared to the previous year, new figures from the Greater London Authority (GLA) have revealed. Local London Assembly Member, Andrew Dismore AM, said that this could get “even worse” in the coming months without Government action to protect renters further and support those struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

New GLA data shows that in this twelve-month period, 178 rough sleepers were recorded on the borough’s streets.

Across London, the number of rough sleepers recorded in this period ballooned by a fifth to exceed 10,000.

Over the lockdown period, the ‘Everyone In’ campaign, co-ordinated by the Mayor, local councils and the Government, provided 4,000 homeless Londoners with emergency hotel accommodation.

In March, the Government announced a temporary ban on evictions, which has now been extended to 23^rd September.

City Hall has urged the Government to take further measures to prevent another spike in homelessness coinciding with a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic this winter.

These include strengthening protections for tenants in the private rented sector and increasing support for Londoners with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).

In April 2019, the Government pledged to ban section 21 or ‘no fault’ evictions. Section 21 legislation, which is still in force, enables landlords to require their tenants to vacate their property at two months’ notice, without having to provide a reason.

In 2019/2020, City Hall invested £19.2 million into tackling homelessness. In July, the Mayor also secured £67 million as part of a Government grant to build long-term accommodation for rough sleepers.

Local London Assembly Member, Andrew Dismore AM, said:

“These new figures show that rough sleeping isn’t getting better, despite all the warm words we’ve heard from the Government, it’s getting worse.

“We are facing a recession and a potential second wave of the pandemic, so we need to act now to protect those who are vulnerable.

“The good news is that we have recently seen what can be done when the Government works collaboratively with the Mayor and local authorities on this issue. During lockdown, the ‘Everyone In’ scheme provided emergency accommodation to thousands of vulnerable Londoners.

“We cannot allow this positive momentum to be lost, and the Government now needs to put stronger protections in place to protect renters and dramatically increase support for those most at risk of ending up homeless, particularly those with No Recourse to Public Funds”.