Lambeth (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Lambeth Council completed its annual overnight rough sleepers count, deploying staff and volunteers to assess homelessness levels across the borough.
Every year, cosmopolis throughout the country take part in this civil shot to determine how numerous individuals are sleeping rough on a single night, including introductory information about who they’re and where they may be from. The results impact public and original enterprise to keep people off the thoroughfares and avoid homelessness.
“We are working hard to make a difference”,
said Cllr David Bridson, Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities, who took part in the count alongside Cllr Claire Holland, Leader of Lambeth Council. Cllr Bridson continued:
“Going out on the streets of our borough is an important part of understanding the scale of this crisis.”
“More than 200 rough sleepers were helped off the streets by Lambeth Council last year. And our homelessness prevention services have helped thousands more people keep a roof over their heads.
Despite these efforts, homelessness remains a huge concern, both here in Lambeth and across London. The desperate shortage of affordable housing and long-term underfunding of the public sector are big drivers here.”
Teams under the direction of a skilled outreach worker traverse the borough after midnight during the count, adhering to a precise national definition of what constitutes rough sleeping, which identifies those who were either bedded down or ready to bed down in the open or taking refuge in areas not intended for habitation.
The yearly count is still the most reliable and independently confirmed metric, but this year’s count will coexist with monthly data previously gathered by councils and given to the government.
Lambeth collaborates with the Thames Reach Outreach Team, which engages and supports rough sleepers seven days a week around the borough. The Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy outlines the council’s commitment to preventing homelessness through early intervention and working with partners to provide rapid support for those on the streets, ensuring that rough sleeping remains rare, brief, and non-recurrent.
While helping people off the streets is crucial, Lambeth is equally focused on preventing homelessness in the first place. Lambeth’s approach, according to Cllr Bridson, is both proactive and caring:
“We have invested heavily in this prevention work, because once people become homeless it gets ever harder to find them somewhere safe to live.
These services have been a real success, supported by specialist help for people experiencing addiction or mental health challenges—key factors in the homelessness many people face.”
“We are determined to act—and keep providing the services needed to tackle this issue, even with us having to make millions in savings,”
added Cllr Bridson referring to the council’s budget crisis.Lambeth has preserved numerous services to assist rough sleepers and is still spending about £5 million a year on various forms of assistance despite significant budget cuts.
Over the past few years, we have successfully applied for government financing through the Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant and other programs, which has strengthened the total support provided to rough sleepers.Lambeth has been able to carry out a variety of initiatives and support services thanks to these subsidies, including:
- Hotel accommodations for emergencies
- PRS move-on assistance and resettlement
- Assistance with education and work
Lambeth’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which offers additional assistance to rough sleepers in the event of persistently low temperatures, is triggered when the Met Office predicts temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or lower. 28 individuals who were sleeping on the streets were granted housing after the most recent SWEP activation in November.
What methodology did Lambeth use for the overnight count?
Lambeth Council used a count- grounded estimate methodology for its periodic late rough slumberers count on November 27- 28, 2025, planting 50 staff and levies for visual road- position checks from 10pm- 4 am across known hotspots like Waterloo bends, Clapham Common, Brixton Road, and Knightsbridge.
Teams totally patrolled designated areas on a single” typical night,” recording individualities observed coverlet down in canopies, sleeping bags, doorways, or exposed locales, avoiding double- counting via coordinated routes and real- time logging; datacross-referenced with CHAIN system for known rough slumberers.
Counts focus on visible rough resting only, supplemented by agency intelligence meetings post-survey; primary results (70 slumberers, down 10) inform SWEP activations and the 2025- 2030 Homelessness Strategy, with full analysis published daily via DLUHC.