Record number of rough sleepers in England last year, official figures show
Record numbers of people slept rough on the streets of England last year, according to the latest official statistics,An estimated 4,793 people spent the night in tents, doorways and parks on a single night in autumn 2025, up 3% year on year, and overtaking the previous peak of 4,751 in 2017, though charities believe these figures underestimate the scale of the nation’s homelessness crisis,2025 was the fourth year in a row that rough sleeping numbers have risen,The figures also show that the number of children in homeless families living in temporary accommodation increased to the highest levels on record, up 12,020 in a year to 175,990,Charities said the recent upward trend in rough sleeping and temporary housing was unlikely to be reversed without government action to tackle the impact of high private sector rents and build more social housing.
“It is a national scandal,” said Sarah Elliott, the chief executive of Shelter,Separate figures showed 15,690 households headed by older people were at risk of homelessness as a result of housing benefit falling behind the rent levels, a rise of 79% in the last five years, according to the charity Independent Age,“Some of the older private renters we speak to are really struggling with affording their rent, which can lead to being evicted,” said Joanna Elson, the chief executive of Independent Age,Charities said more detailed official monthly rough sleeping estimates showed more than 9,000 people slept rough in October and November, and over 8,000 in December,Calculations by the homelessness charity Crisis in 2025 indicate the real figure could be as high as 15,000.
Rough sleeping more than doubled after 2010, when austerity was introduced, falling significantly only during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 thanks to the “Everybody In” initiative that put up thousands of rough sleepers in hotels.After the Covid low of 2,443 in 2021 rough sleeper numbers grew by over 20% in each of the three following years.Last year, the first full year under the Labour government, the increase was 3%.The government launched a strategy in December aimed at halving rough sleeping by the end of this parliament.On Thursday it announced a £50m fund to support homelessness charities and target areas with high rough sleeping.
Its Renters’ Rights Act banning “no fault” private rented sector evictions, comes into effect in May,Matt Downie, the chief executive of Crisis, said the new figures “paint a bleak picture of the state of the nation,People are being forced to sleep on the streets at unprecedented levels, exposed to danger and violence,”Rick Henderson, thechief executive of Homeless Link, the umbrella body for frontline homelessness services, described the figures as “devastating”,He added: “There can be no question that ending this atrocious situation must be a political and social priority.
”The homelessness minister, Alison McGovern, said: “We have to get our kids out of B&B accommodation, and it is good that today we see progress against this target,There are simply too many people facing life on the streets or in temporary accommodation,While today’s statistics show progress in some areas, it is clearly not good enough,“We are investing a record £3,6bn funding to tackle homelessness, including £50m announced today to help councils and voluntary groups often on the frontline of helping the most vulnerable people and creating real change for those that need it most.
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Drax to stop burning controversial Canadian wood within next year
The owner of Drax power plant has started reducing the amount of Canadian wood pellets it burns, and will stop burning trees from British Columbia entirely within the next year.The FTSE 250 company Drax Group said its Canadian wood pellet plants, which once supplied millions of tonnes of biomass to be burnt in its North Yorkshire power plant, had cost the company almost £200m in financial impairments last year.The company said the pellet production plants, which have come under criticism from environmentalists, faced a “challenging outlook” after a decision in the second half of last year that, from 2027, the Drax power plant would burn pellets sourced only from the US.Despite the writedown, Drax shares soared to 20-year highs to give the company a market value of about £3bn after it reported better than expected full-year earnings of £947m for 2025 and raised shareholder dividends by 11.5%
UK parents fear young will be worse off for first time in a century, ex-minister warns
The number of young people in the UK not working or in education has risen closer to a million, figures show, as a government adviser warned that for the first time in a century parents do not think their children will have a better life than them.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people aged 16 to 24 who were not in education, employment or training (Neet) rose to 957,000 in the final three months of last year, equating to 12.8% of this age group.The figure was up from 946,000 in July to September, but down by 14,000 from a year earlier. The number of young women classed as Neet rose by 13,000 while the number of young men fell by 2,000
Tell us: how will the UK’s landline switch-off affect you or your family?
UK telecoms companies are retiring traditional landline services and replacing them with internet-based home phone connections.The industry has set a deadline of January 2027 to complete this switch with roughly 3.2 million homes still to move over. While the digital switchover has been straightforward for most households, for some vulnerable customers, such as those with telecare devices, it has been very stressful.In December 2025 Virgin Media was fined £23
‘Unbelievably dangerous’: experts sound alarm after ChatGPT Health fails to recognise medical emergencies
ChatGPT Health regularly misses the need for medical urgent care and frequently fails to detect suicidal ideation, a study of the AI platform has found, which experts worry could “feasibly lead to unnecessary harm and death”.OpenAI launched the “Health” feature of ChatGPT to limited audiences in January, which it promotes as a way for users to “securely connect medical records and wellness apps” to generate health advice and responses. More than 40 million people reportedly ask ChatGPT for health-related advice every day.The first independent safety evaluation of ChatGPT Health, published in the February edition of the journal Nature Medicine, found it under-triaged more than half of the cases presented to it.The lead author of the study, Dr Ashwin Ramaswamy, said “we wanted to answer the most basic safety question; if someone is having a real medical emergency and asks ChatGPT Health what to do, will it tell them to go to the emergency department?”Ramaswamy and his colleagues created 60 realistic patient scenarios covering health conditions from mild illnesses to emergencies
Golfer Andrea Pavan ‘thankful to be alive’ after reportedly falling down lift shaft
Italian golfer Andrea Pavan is “thankful to be alive” after reportedly falling three floors down a lift shaft.The 36-year-old, a two-time European Tour winner, was scheduled to be playing in this week’s South African Open Championship at Stellenbosch Golf Club but was forced to withdraw after the incident on Wednesday.According to reports the accident, which happened in his private accommodation, occurred when the lift doors opened but there was no lift car in the shaft and Pavan fell, sustaining multiple injuries.Italian media reports say he underwent a six-hour operation to reduce several vertebral fractures and implant a plate in his shoulder and is in a serious but not life-threatening condition.Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'
‘He’s doing all he can’: England back Buttler to end miserable run of form
England have not committed to fielding their strongest side in Friday’s do-not-necessarily-have-to-win T20 World Cup encounter with New Zealand but Jos Buttler will be given the chance to turn around his miserable run of form, with the team’s coaching staff convinced that a return to familiar lofty standards is imminent.After six games at the tournament, Buttler’s top score is 26, against Nepal in England’s opener, and in their past four matches he has contributed three, three, seven and two. It is his worst run in international T20s since he followed 13 in his first ever innings with five successive single-digit scores, between February and September 2012.“I’ve played a lot against Jos, he’s one of the most dangerous white-ball batters to play the game,” said Tim Southee, England’s bowling coach. “When you’re that good and you have a bit of a blip, I guess you feel a bit more pressure
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