Rough sleeping has increased by more than a fifth in the space of a year, according to latest government figures.

Data from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities found an estimated 52 people were sleeping rough in Brighton on a single night in autumn last year, up 27 per cent on the previous year.

The number was the highest in the South East and eighth highest in England.

Westminster had the highest number of people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2023, a total of 277.

Gill Williams, chairwoman of Brighton and Hove City Council’s housing committee, said rough sleeping had risen considerably since the Conservatives first entered government in 2010.

She said: “While much of the increase in demand is because the Tories have managed the economy so badly, some of the the uplift in homelessness is also a result of their failure to implement legislation that would make a difference.

“Since 2019, the government has promised to ban Section 21 evictions but has repeatedly delayed the decision to. Section 21 notices are a major cause of homelessness as they allow landlords to evict tenants who are not on fixed-term contracts without having to give a reason. 

“The next Labour government will ban Section 21 evictions immediately and strengthen the rights of renters.

“As a Labour administration, we will continue to work extremely hard to support rough sleepers and other people who are homeless or at risk of being made homeless and our ultimate goal is to end rough sleeping. 

“We currently provide more than 700 units of accommodation – one of the highest figures in the country – for those who sleep rough or who are at risk of sleeping rough. 

“We will continue to prioritise these accommodation services while also scaling up our work to prevent homelessness in the first place.”