The tories categorically failed to end rough sleeping – here’s four things the next government needs to do better

ROUGH SLEEPING

This was supposed to be the year that rough sleeping ended in England but, as we now know, it didn’t happen. Far from it.

In fact, the official rough sleeping snapshot shows the number of people on the streets more than doubled since 2010 – while the Tories came to power – despite their 2019 manifesto promise to make it a thing of the past.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is the latest politician to put a date on ending rough sleeping, promising to tackle the issue by 2030. The Big Issue’s Blueprint for Change is calling on the next government to apply that deadline to the rest of the country.

Here are three reasons why the Tories failed in their bid to end rough sleeping and what the next government needs to do better.

Slow on rolling out Housing First

Housing First is often spoken of as the solution to ending rough sleeping, most notably due to its impact in Finland.

Giving someone who is sleeping rough a home and wraparound support to keep it is a proven model for helping some of the most vulnerable people off the streets for good.

The Conservative government has been running three pilot schemes in Greater Manchester, Merseyside and the West Midlands – but they remain pilot schemes, despite being in operation for years.

Lesley Howard, the national homelessness lead for charity Change Grow Live, said: “We know that Housing First works. It absolutely works and it’s been proven. But you’ve got to have the properties to put people in.”

It’s impossible to tackle homelessness without homes

Successive governments have failed to build enough homes to keep up with the UK’s rising population, leading to sky-high rents and house prices.

The Conservatives set a manifesto target of building 300,000 homes per year by the mid-2020s and have managed to deliver more homes than recent Westminster regimes with