Article 1:Number of rough sleepers doubles in a year.

The number of people sleeping rough in Manchester has nearly doubled in the last year – according to new government figures.

One-night ‘snapshots’ published by the Department for Communities found 27 people spending the night on the city streets compared to 15 last year. Homeless charities have said growing poverty levels are behind the rise and that welfare reform set to be introduced in April will further increase the problem.

Number of rough sleepers doubles in a year.

A homeless man sleeps rough in Manchester

Adrian Nottingham, chief executive of The Mustard Tree, said the number of care packages being given out by the charity had more than doubled in the last year. He said: “I think these figures are reflective of the problem seen night after night on the streets of Manchester, of people being forced to sleep rough.”

“The catalysts have been the rising cost of living along with the austerity packages put in place by the coalition government which have seen people fall into poverty and lose the roofs from over their heads.”

“The worrying thing is that this is all prior to welfare reforms which are set to come in and further hit some of the most vulnerable members of society. This problem will almost certainly get worse this year and I am concerned that there are not the support measures in place to deal with it.”

The new figure is based on a ‘street count’ conducted by council officers in November last year.

Number of rough sleepers doubles in a year.