Southport has ‘no rough sleepers’ claim council

A council survey has shown there are no ‘official’ rough sleepers in Southport, despite a number of beggars on the town’s high streets.

Sefton Council’s homeless team says that nobody is apparently sleeping rough on the streets of the town.

In line with the Government’s required process, Sefton Council carries out a single-night count of rough sleepers in the Borough each year, between October 1st and November 30th. The number of people found sleeping on the streets on that one night is used by the Government as Sefton’s official annual figure.

However, with the current national cost of living crisis taking hold, the Council is aware that a single-night survey may not tell the whole story.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “This zero figure for a second year running is a testament to the hard work of the work our own Housing teams and our partner organisations do to help people facing homelessness and rough sleeping.

“But at a time when rents, mortgage rates, heating and lighting costs and prices in the shops are rising, we are concerned that this winter there may well be people who find themselves needing support through no fault of their own.”