‍Ahead of the annual rough sleeping snapshot for the number of people rough sleeping in England, Guillermo Rodriguez-Guzman explains how the data is collated from his experience as an independent verifier

By Guillermo Rodriguez-Guzman

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Around 10.30pm on a very cold Tuesday night in late November, I put the kettle on. But instead of my usual lemon and ginger tea before heading to bed, I made a very large pot of strong coffee as I was going to join the annual rough sleeping count in one of the boroughs in Central London.

Upon arrival at the Local Authority offices, I was welcomed by a few familiar faces, a large group of volunteers, tea, biscuits, and an effective and factual briefing just after midnight. The team promptly organised us in twos or threes giving each group a delineated map of the wards we were to cover and highlighting areas where people are usually found sleeping rough, a few forms, relevant data privacy statements, and a ‘goodbye, stay in touch’.

Every pair was supposed to be out for between two to three hours, sweeping most streets, and in some cases also checking other areas like college grounds or parks. We had keys to local parks and the caseworker I doubled up shared, as we walked at pace, several stories about getting keys to stairwells and barns where people had been reported to be bedded down.

As expected, we soon came across people sleeping on the streets. The first was a middle-aged man bedded down in a nook next to a building in a well-transited and well-lit street. It was around 1.30 am and he was awake so the caseworker approached to introduce themself and ask his name. Next, they asked basic information including his date of birth, nationality and whether he had a caseworker - some of this information was needed for the snapshot figure and to be able to offer support if the Local Authority didn’t know him.

Regrettably, this was the first of several such encounters. All were done with the utmost care - for example, people should not be woken up unless they can be offered a bed immediately and people who don’t want to respond to questions don’t need to do so (but they are counted anyway).

After finishing our assigned wards, we returned to the base to wait for other teams to return and share the details of people they had come across. My role as an independent verifier for the count was to tally all figures, and have conversations with all pairs as they came back, to check that the count was well-organised and conducted using the correct method, making notes as we went along. At the end of the night, and equipped with my phone, I tallied all numbers and returned the form to the organisers who kindly organised some transport to head back home.  (Yes, I have Data in my title but 4am is way too late to do mental maths).

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Seven hours, a whole bag of gummies, 15,000 steps and many conversations later I came back home thinking about the conversations we had with some of the people we encountered sleeping out that night. Whilst these are just a couple of cases, two things struck me that I think are illustrative.

Firstly, the handful of people we encountered were well-known to caseworkers but the opportunities to support them were limited - in some instances because offers could not accommodate their needs or because they were not eligible for them, for example, due to their immigration status.

Secondly, I was very impressed by all the caseworkers I spoke to. I consistently found a very calm, gentle, and clear demeanour paired with a real commitment to help. I came back home exhausted, and also cherishing every second and opportunity to chat with each of them, enriched by their commitment to the brilliant work they do, but also with a better understanding of the nuances behind these very important statistics to help us understand the current levels of rough sleeping across England.

Now, let’s come back to the basics of the count.

Since 2010, the government has collected and published information on the number of people sleeping rough on a ‘typical night in Autumn’.

Firstly, remember that this is a snapshot: an image at a point in time – it doesn’t mean to capture everyone sleeping rough in England in a year. But, as the approach used is consistent over time, it is a helpful way to assess changes over time.

Secondly, this is done on a ‘typical night’ between the 1 October and the 30 November and Local Authorities can decide and coordinate the precise date on which this happens. Usually counts are done during the week to avoid the nighttime economy, and counting can’t start before midnight. Sometimes, it even starts as late as 3am but it must conclude by the time the daylight activity starts around 5-6am.

‘Typical night’ also means that there are no unusual and unforeseen circumstances may impact on numbers such as extreme weather conditions – such as activation of the  Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), heavy rains or flooding – or events such as riots or protests.

In my case, it was a very cold night, but it would not reach below zero - the threshold at which SWEP is activated in London - until the next day. This meant that the count could go ahead as planned, but at least it meant that the team could offer emergency accommodation for the following night to all people sleeping rough found that night.

Thirdly, the snapshot is not always a physical ‘count’. There are actually three types of approaches that can be taken…

An evidence-based estimate meeting where local agencies agree on a single figure that represents the number of people thought to be sleeping rough in the local authority on a single date.

An evidence-based estimate meeting including a spotlight count which is the same as above, but with one of the evidence sources also including a street count, but not as extensive as the count-based estimate.

A count-based estimate like the one I took part in, which is more feasible as the area is relatively small and very urban.

In 2022, 80% used an evidence-based estimate meeting or an evidence-based estimate meeting including spotlight and 20% used a count-based estimate.

Finally, whilst the count is not perfect, it is a helpful exercise - it helps us to understand the direction things are going. Importantly, the role of independent verifiers, coordinated by Homeless Link is crucial to ensure the snapshot is conducted safely and that numbers stand scrutiny.

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I wanted to thank all the colleagues from Homeless Link for the informative briefing and support, as well as the volunteers and staff for their very valuable time in supporting the count and sharing their stories and commitment; But also, to encourage you to support a future count in your area by registering with Homeless Link:

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Guillermo Rodriguez-Guzman is Director of Evidence and Data at the Centre for Homelessness Impact