'Heartbreaking': Angela Rayner on the plight of people sleeping rough on the streets of London

Angela Rayner has told of the “heartbreaking” sight of so many people living on the streets of London.The Communities Secretary spoke of the “challenge” to help thousands of rough sleepers in the capital and other parts of the country.Westminister has the highest number of homeless people dying in LondonAFP/Getty“It's heartbreaking,” Ms Rayner told the London Standard.“Not only is it heartbreaking when I walk into Parliament or when I see people on the streets there in my own constituency in Greater Manchester. You know, you see this in cities and in areas around England. “That it is a challenge, and we want to make sure that the members of the public can play their part in supporting the charities and the voluntary sector we're working with, while supporting local authorities to deliver these routes off the street, so that we can all play our part and know that there is an option and that we can help and support people with the right care and the support to end rough sleeping.”Councils in London have warned of a growing financial crisis driven in part by homelessness and the housing crisisPA Wire“No, it can't be done without tackling the housing crisis in the city,” she said. “So we are ramping up house building in the capital. “We've made changes to the building safety regulation function so that we can get these houses built and the Government gave 30% of the social and affordable homes programme money that we announced only a couple of weeks ago to London because we not only recognize the acute challenge and needs of London, but also recognize the success of the Mayor of London working with the local authorities to bring those housing stats up by nearly 300%.”Andy Burnham on Monday called on business chiefs and charities to step up efforts to tackle rough sleeping with the Budget set to deliver a £432 million boost to help ensure homeless people are off the streets by Christmas.The Prime Minister hosted a rough sleeping summit in Downing Street before Chancellor John Healey confirms the extra money in his statement to MPs on Wednesday.Andy Burnham is joined by Chancellor John Healey and MP for Cities of London and Westminster Rachel Blake (2nd R) during a visit to St Martin-in-the-Fields Charity in LondonGettyThe most up-to-date, annual, national statistics estimated there were 4,793 people sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2025 in England.Read MoreThe funding at the Budget comes on top of £442 million committed earlier this year and will allow the rough sleeping programme to continue until the end of the current parliament in 2029.But Mr Burnham has faced criticism from the Conservatives over his record as mayor of Greater Manchester on the issue.Shadow housing secretary Katie Lam said: “Burnham is throwing another £432 million at a problem he failed to solve in Greater Manchester.“Under Labour, rough sleeping has hit record highs – yet their answer is always more taxpayers’ money and more empty promises.”