National rough sleeper count: November 2019

Two week exercise

Local authorities estimated that 405 persons were sleeping rough across Wales over 2 weeks between 14th and 27th October 2019. This is an increase of 17% (58 persons) compared with the exercise in October 2018 with trends varying across authorities.

One night snapshot

Local authorities reported 176 individuals observed sleeping rough across Wales between 10pm on the 7th and 5am on 8th November 2019. This was an increase of 11% (18 persons) on the previous year, with trends varying across local authorities.

Emergency bed spaces

Local authorities reported 210 emergency bed spaces across Wales, an increase of 14% on the previous year. Despite this increase, the proportion of emergency bed spaces which were unoccupied and available on the night of the count was lower in 2019 (8%) than in 2018 and 2017 (both 18%).

Note

The count carried out in November 2019 in Wales is essentially a snapshot estimate. It can only provide a very broad indication of rough sleeping levels on the night of the count. There are a range of factors which can impact on single-night counts of rough sleepers, including location, timing and weather.

The information presented in this report covers the rough sleeper monitoring exercise carried out across Wales during October and November 2019. It is based on the data provided by local authorities.

This report does not include any information on statutory homelessness. Statutory homelessness covers actions taken by local authorities to prevent or relieve homelessness under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.