The first set of rough sleeping figures since the Government overhauled the way counts are conducted have been published.
The new figures bring the national total of rough sleepers to 1,768 on any given night - considerably higher than the 440 counted under the previous system.
In a change to the previous system, all councils now provide a robust estimate or a count of those sleeping rough in their area - in order to give a clearer picture of the scale of the problem in each area of the country.
To support the work of the voluntary sector in tackling rough sleeping, the Government has announced an £18.5 million package of funding for the main national homelessness charities, and extra powers for the Mayor of London to run pan-London rough sleeping services.
At the Spending Review, the Coalition Government announced a £400 million investment to tackle homelessness. Whilst the majority of this funding is directed through councils to allow them to decide their priorities locally, ministers decided that there remained a compelling case for a 'Homelessness Grant' to be given directly to the voluntary sector.
Housing Minister Grant Shapps said:
"For too long a supposedly national figure of rough sleepers hasn't reflected the reality on our streets. Councils and local charities know their areas best and that's why I am putting them centre stage in assessing the true scale of the problem they face locally.
"By having these more accurate numbers and a better national picture of the problem - we can start to help the homeless much more effectively.
"So whilst on the surface the new figures show a large jump in those sleeping on the streets, they actually reflect a more accurate way of evaluating the extent of rough sleeping.
"We had a situation before where large numbers of those spending the night on the street were simply being ignored, with cities like Manchester not counting in 2010 and Coventry not counting on a number of occasions."
The Minister has also asked councils to replace Government officials on the count with representatives from Homeless Link, the national charity for all homelessness agencies.
This ensures that those working directly to help people off the streets can best offer their expertise and advice, whilst providing a more consistent approach to counting rough sleepers.
And to tackle the wider issues affecting rough sleepers, he has brought together ministers from across eight Government departments to look beyond just housing and consider employment, training, rehabilitation and healthcare.
The ministerial group on homelessness looks at areas such as 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, which is linked with re-offending in many cases.
The £18.5 million funding is for key national homelessness charities and for rough sleeping services across London, as follows: