A recent study from the charity Shelter ranked Brighton & Hove as having the second highest rate of homelessness in the country outside London, numbers have stayed high over many years and local government may be powerless to act.
One in 78 people are homeless in Brighton & Hove, this number has only fallen a small amount since 2019 while other areas in South East England like Slough and Gosport have seen much sharper falls. Brighton has significant services for homeless people and is on the south coast, attracting homeless people due to its warmth in colder months.
Brighton also has a very high cost of living, which can push people into homelessness.
Brighton & Hove City Council recently passed a “Homeless Bill of Rights”, being the first council in the country to do so. However, this doesn’t bill doesn’t change any funding or council policy. Local Councils have very little control over their budgets so often can’t afford to do more to tackle homelessness.
Currently, the central government is paying to house homeless people until the end of March, but after this date we could see a huge increase in levels of rough sleeping in Brighton.
