[KF] Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced his intention to overhaul the system for measuring rough sleeping. This comes on the day of the first meeting of homelessness ministers from eight Government departments, set up by the Prime Minister to step up action to help the homeless.
The latest rough sleeping count conducted in 2009 showed there were only 464 rough sleepers nationwide. However, up until 2008 the majority of the estimates that councils submitted were bracketed down to zero, masking the true number of rough sleepers nationwide.
The current system also means that local authorities only have to conduct a count where there is thought to be a significant problem - meaning that only 76 out of the then 354 councils contributed to the last count.
The Minister confirmed that he is looking for the system to be overhauled and is asking officials to review the way rough sleepers are counted, so the findings better reflect the true scale of the problem.
Any agreed changes will come into effect from 2011 and, as pre-announced, this year's rough sleeping figure will be published as soon as possible.
Members of the new ministerial taskforce appointed by the Prime Minister are:
Issues to be considered by the taskforce will include better health outcomes for homeless people through closer working between local authorities, hospitals and primary care services and the reduction of homelessness amongst ex-offenders.
Rough Sleeping Count Questioned