News

A homelessness charity has produced evidence to cast doubt on the official government figures for people sleeping rough.

A count in Leeds last week by the Simon Community found five times more rough sleepers than the government's rough sleepers unit (RSU) counted in November.

The charity's workers discovered 40 people sleeping outside. This contrasts sharply with a Leeds Council count on behalf of the RSU last year that produced a total of only eight.

Two local government professionals involved in the official counts, who responded to Community Care's online discussion forum Have Your Say, supported Casey's assertion by vouching for the validity of the official counts in London and York (News, 24 January, page 14).

But homelessness campaigners have disputed the figures, especially in Brighton and Birmingham where the official totals were only six and two people respectively.

Jon Davis, project co-ordinator of the Simon Community in Leeds, said the charity used the same criteria as the RSU to determine whether a person was genuinely living on the street.

"The Simon Community carried out the count to provide accurate information about the extent of the problem of rough sleeping. The figures show that more needs to be done to alleviate the situation," he said.

But a spokesperson for the RSU said the count in Leeds was done in conjunction with Shelter and the figure has remained at a "steady eight".

"We would like to know more about the methodology the Simon Community used for their count," she said.

A Leeds Council spokesperson said: "We feel the numbers quoted are higher than we would have expected, and may not reflect the situation in Leeds."