Doncaster among cities with highest increase in rough sleeping following Andy Burnham pledge

With Andy Burnham using his first speech to pledge an end to long-term rough sleeping, new analysis of government data reveals the scale of the challenge in Doncaster which records the fifth highest year-on-year increase in the rate of rough sleeping of any city in England.

Doncaster among cities with highest increase in rough sleeping following Andy Burnham pledge to uncover which are recording the highest rates of people sleeping rough each month per 100,000 people. They also compared data from March 2025 to March 2026, to find the cities with the largest year-on-year changes.

Key findings:

• Doncaster records the fifth largest year-on-year increase, up 58% from 8.1 to 12.8 rough sleepers per 100,000 people.
• Norwich sees the largest year-on-year increase in rough sleeping rates, up 160% from 6.8 to 17.7 per 100,000 people, exceeding other cities in the East of England such as Colchester and Peterborough.
• Lancaster records the largest decline in rates of rough sleeping of any city, dropping 50% from 11 to 5.5 per 100,000 people, despite other North West cities, Liverpool (+59%) and Manchester (+34%), showing increased year-on-year rates of rough sleeping.
• Gloucester has the highest rough sleeping rate (46.9 per 100,000 people), and has increased 23% year-on-year. It’s the only city in the South West with increased rates, with Exeter, Bristol and Plymouth having decreased year-on-year.

Doncaster recorded the fifth largest year-on-year increase, up 58% from 8.1 to 12.8 per 100,000 people. This represents an increase from an estimated 26 to 41 rough sleepers per month across the city. Conversely Leeds, also in Yorkshire and The Humber, saw rates decrease by 8% year-on-year.

Not all places moved in the wrong direction, with 20 cities recording a reduction in rough sleeping rates year-on-year.

Mandy Kaur, Managing Director at Jigsaw Conferences sayd: “Norwich has seen the number of people sleeping rough more than double in just one year, and it is not alone; Southampton, Liverpool, Oxford and Manchester have all recorded sharp rises.

“The data shows us that rough sleeping is not a problem confined to one region or certain types of cities, but that the problem is widespread and growing in many parts of the country.”