Rough sleepers offered emergency shelter as UK temperatures plummet

Rough sleepers across the UK have been offered emergency shelter amid freezing temperatures.

Councils have used the severe weather emergency protocol (Swep) to provide a bed for the night for rough sleepers as much of the country experiences a cold snap.

Each council has its own criteria for deploying Swep, but it is generally adopted when temperatures fall below 0C or an ice and snow weather warning is issued. Sweps have also been used during heatwaves to prevent heatstroke and dehydration.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We know, as the temperature drops, things become even more difficult for those on the streets, and councils will be considering whether to activate their severe weather emergency protocol.” The spokesperson added that the ministry had supported councils by providing an extra £10m in November – approximately £32,000 each.

“We are also providing £1bn funding for homelessness over the next year, including the largest ever investment in preventive services, to support councils to get more rough sleepers off the street and stop people sleeping rough in the first place,” the spokesperson said.

A Met Office spokesperson said temperatures had plummeted to a low of -8.6C in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, overnight into Saturday. An amber warning for snow and rare freezing rain covering most of Wales and central England, including the Midlands and Liverpool and Manchester, is in place from 6pm on Saturday to midday on Sunday.

A second amber warning for snow, covering most of northern England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District, begins at 9pm on Saturday, running until midnight on Sunday.

Three separate yellow weather warnings for snow and ice will be in force for most areas of the UK, covering different periods of time until Monday afternoon.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Dan Holley said temperatures would remain below average, with some areas struggling to get above freezing for several days.

There is no way of confirming if councils have provided emergency shelter to rough sleepers.

The protocols don’t work for everyone. Stuart Potts, who runs the Saving People Shelter Project in Manchester, says he is still getting phone calls from people wanting to stay in his shelter, which he runs from his own home in Middleton. “The council can’t be getting everyone off the street if I’m still getting referrals,” he said. “A lot of vulnerable people don’t want to go into shelters because they’re scared of sharing a room with some of the people you find on the street, who might be drunk or on drugs.”

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The number of rough sleepers is rising in the UK, according to the government’s own data. In September 2024, 9,079 people were estimated to be sleeping rough over the month, an increase of 8% from the previous year and 9% from June 2024. Of these figures, 33% were found to be new people sleeping rough, 34% were entrenched rough sleepers, 14% were returning to the streets from accommodation, and 30% of people had moved into settled accommodation in the previous year.

Of those sleeping rough, 8% had recently left an institution, with over half of these leaving prison and 18% leaving asylum support services.

The number of homeless deaths is also on the rise. The Museum of Homelessness has documented the deaths of 6,911 people since October 2017. Its latest figures, from 2023, show that 1,474 people died while homeless – one person every six hours.

According to the UK Security Agency, cold weather periods often increase the number of homeless deaths: “Sleeping rough increases the risk of cold-related illness and death.”

• If you see someone sleeping rough this weekend, contact StreetLink by phone or by downloading its app. StreetLink enables the public to connect rough sleepers with local services that can help them into emergency accommodation. If it is an emergency, dial 999.