New data published last week show London’s homelessness crisis continues to escalate, with boroughs now spending £5.5 million a day on homelessness in 2024/25 – up from £4.2 million a day in 2023/24. The bulk of that spending is the cost of providing temporary accommodation for homeless families – now almost £5m a day in the capital.
Net current expenditure on homelessness in London has risen by 42 per cent since last year, compared to a 16 per cent increase across the rest of England.
Cllr Claire Holland, Chair of London Councils, said: “London boroughs are now spending a staggering £5 million a day on temporary accommodation – a stark reflection of the scale of the capital's housing crisis, which continues to worsen.
“This underlines the importance of using the most up-to-date data in the forthcoming reforms to local government finances and ensuring measures of deprivation properly reflect housing costs and the impact of homelessness.
“After more than a decade of structural underfunding, rising costs and growing demand, it is vital that boroughs receive funding which genuinely reflects the level of need in the capital. We want to work with the government to address our concerns with the Fair Funding Review so that we can help restore stability to council finances and prevent more boroughs being plunged into crisis.”
