‘Truly shameful’ figures show more than 5,000 disabled people spent time sleeping on London’s streets last year

New figures that show more than 5,000 disabled people spent time sleeping on the streets of London last year are “truly shameful”, according to the capital’s leading disabled people’s organisation.

The figures, secured by Disability News Service (DNS) through a freedom of information request*, show the number of disabled people seen rough sleeping in London rose by nearly a thousand between 2019 and 2023.

London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, said the figures were “very worrying” and “should be a wake-up call” for ministers who continue to ignore the scale of the “national crisis”.

But the government was unable to explain this week why so many disabled people were living on London’s streets, saying there were many reasons why people become homeless.

DNS requested the figures after talking to disabled people who were living in tents just yards from where the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) used to have many of its offices, in central London (pictured).

The new figures*, released by the mayor’s Greater London Authority, showed the number of disabled people seen rough sleeping in the capital rose from 4,434 in 2019 to 5,390 in 2023.

The biggest increase appears to have been in those with mental distress or trauma, with that number rising from 3,363 in 2019 to 4,184 in 2023**, although those living with significant health conditions also rose sharply, from 2,829 to 3,207.

Laura Vicinanza, Inclusion London’s policy and stakeholder engagement manager, said the numbers were “truly shameful”.

She said: “It’s appalling and unacceptable that there are so many disabled people who are sleeping rough in what is supposed to be the best city in the world.

“Sleeping rough is a traumatic experience for anyone but it’s particularly devastating for disabled people.

“The situation is out of control and demands urgent action from government at all levels to keep everyone, including disabled people, off the streets.”

Vicinanza said the increase since 2019 was also “shocking”.

She said: “Our community has been one of the hardest hit by austerity, the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on top of the impact of long-term structural inequality and discrimination that we experience daily in our lives.

“It is not surprising that a hostile housing market coupled with austerity measures and a chronic shortage of accessible, safe and affordable homes have pushed more and more disabled people into homelessness.”

She added: “We know that the risk of homelessness and housing precarity for disabled people has drastically risen as a result of a series of policy failures to prevent homelessness, including the lack of appropriate support being provided to autistic people and people with learning difficulties with managing tenancies.”

And she said that many disabled people are forced into private rented accommodation, which is “the most unaffordable, inaccessible and insecure form of tenure”.

No-fault evictions in the private rented sector are the leading cause of homelessness, she said, but disproportionately impact disabled people who cannot then find affordable housing that meets their needs once they are evicted by their landlords.

Inclusion London called on Sadiq Khan to “massively increase the supply of accessible social housing” and to work with local authorities to ensure that homelessness charities commissioned to provide support services receive mandatory disability equality training that is delivered by disabled people’s organisations.

And it called on central government to abolish no-fault evictions “without delay”, and to increase funding to local authorities for “floating support” to prevent disabled people, particularly autistic people, people with learning difficulties and those experiencing mental distress or trauma, from becoming homeless in the first place.

A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan said: “The rise in the number of disabled people sleeping rough in London is very worrying and should be a wake-up call for ministers who continue to turn a blind eye to the scale of this national crisis.

“Since first being elected, Sadiq has more than quadrupled City Hall’s rough sleeping budget, helping more than 16,000 people off the streets, with a further £10 million pledged for his third term.

“He has committed to eradicating rough sleeping in London by 2030 and will not stand by and allow a social catastrophe to unfold in our capital.

“Disabled people have been disproportionality affected by the government’s cuts to the social security system, alongside cuts to council and health budgets.

“The mayor will continue to put pressure on ministers to reverse these damaging cuts as he works to build a fairer, safer London for everyone.”

The mayor’s office said the Greater London Authority’s rough sleeping budget of £36.3 million for 2023-24 was more than four times the £8.45 million a year it was when the mayor took office in 2016.

And it said that more than 75 per cent of those who receive support following intervention from City Hall-funded services are not seen sleeping rough again.

The government’s long-awaited plan to outlaw no-fault evictions should become law this summer, although this will only mean an end to the practice for new tenants. Extending the ban to existing tenants will have to wait until a review has been completed.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) was unable to say why so many disabled people were living on London’s streets, because it said there were many reasons why people become homeless.

But a DLUHC spokesperson said in a statement: “There are very strong protections for homeless people with disabilities, as individuals who are vulnerable as a result of mental ill health, learning disability or physical disability have priority need for temporary accommodation until suitable, settled accommodation is secured.

“We are spending £2.4 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping and giving £191 million to London boroughs over three years, supplying hundreds of beds and specialist support for the most vulnerable.”

*The figures come from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network database

**Many of those sleeping rough were recorded as having more than one type of impairment

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