Shocking figures revealed there are are 4,678 children and a total of 9,589 people without a home in Manchester
Manchester is the worst for homelessness in the north west(Image: Ryan Jenkinson | Manchester Evening News)
One in every 61 people in Manchester are homeless, according to the latest data. There are 4,678 children and a total of 9,589 people without a home in the Manchester city council area – the most out of any other area in the north west.
Recent analysis by housing and homelessness support charity Shelter has found that across the north west, one in 308 people are homeless, with 25,132 people, including over 11,000 children, currently living without a permanent home, whether that be on the streets or in temporary accommodation.
The housing charity also said research showed 382,618 people across England – including 175,025 children – will spend this Christmas without a home.
Shelter said it had combined official homelessness figures with responses to Freedom of Information requests to local authorities. It also estimated that on a given night this year, one in 153 people will have been recorded as homeless.
Shocking figures revealed there are are 4,678 children and a total of 9,589 people without a home in Manchester(Image: Manchester Evening News)
This is an 8 per cent increase on last year. Across the north west, the statistics show that the number of people who have been rendered homeless is up 15 per cent since 2024. The number of people currently homeless across the north west could more than fill the Co-Op Live arena.
The stark figures come as the government launches its new £3.5bn plan to end the homelessness crisis. The three pledges – to halve the number of long-term rough sleepers, end the unlawful use of B&Bs for families and prevent more households from becoming homeless in the first place – are all to be achieved by the end of this Parliament in 2029/30.
Following the analysis of the figures in Manchester, and the announcement of the Government’s new pledge, the council, which works with charities like Shelter, told the M.E.N that the city region ‘faces a particular challenge in preventing and addressing’ the ongoing crisis.
However the council added that the number of households stuck in temporary accommodation and those sleeping rough has ‘remained relatively stable’, with the use of B&Bs eradicated as accommodation options for families.
According to Shelter, the shortage of social homes, unaffordable private rents and the freeze on housing benefit are pushing more people into homelessness and trapping them there. Charities have insisted more needs to be done including a commitment to the Government’s previously made calls to build 90,000 new social rent homes a year for 10 years.
Deputy Council Leader Cllr Joanna Midgley explained: “As the biggest city in the North West, and a magnet for people across the region and beyond, Manchester faces a particular challenge in preventing and addressing homelessness. Any number of people homeless is too many but progress is being made.
“At a time when homelessness figures are going up steeply across the country, in Manchester both the number of households in temporary accommodation and the number of people rough sleeping have remained relatively stable. We’ve also all but eradicated the use of temporary B&B accommodation for families.
The Government has announced its new strategy to tackle the crisis(Image: Jason Roberts /Manchester Evening News)
“The Council are working hard with a wide range of organisations, including Shelter locally, to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place or ensure that anyone who does moves to permanent settled accommodation as soon as possible.
“Crucially, we are also working hard to address the underlying structural issues in the housing market with record numbers of council, social and genuinely affordable homes now being built. Homelessness is a national issue and we welcome the Government’s commitment to tackling it, including the Renters’ Rights Act with its ban on no fault evictions. It’s a level of intent we didn’t see from the previous Government and it’s long overdue.”
After announcing new targets to prevent homelessness and half the number of rough sleepers, the Government’s strategy will use £3.5 billion of investment including through efforts to help those on the streets and to stop others falling into crisis.
The National Plan to End Homelessness has promised to half the number of long-term rough sleepers over the next five years as well as more households to prevent people from becoming homeless.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said homelessness is “one of the most profound challenges we face as a society” and that the strategy had been “shaped by the voices of those who’ve lived through homelessness and the frontline workers who fight tirelessly to prevent it”.
One in every 61 people in Manchester are homeless(Image: Manchester Evening News)
He added: “Through our new strategy we can build a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and not repeated. With record investment, new duties on public services, and a relentless focus on accountability, we will turn ambition into reality.”
Over 90 per cent of the people recorded as homeless, including 84,240 families, are in temporary accommodation, which is only intended for short-term use. Shelter’s research shows households have spent an average of nearly three years so far in temporary accommodation while attempting to access a stable home.
John Ryan, Manchester Strategic Lead at Shelter, said: “It’s unthinkable that as winter sets in, over 25,000 people across the North West are homeless. People sleeping rough on the streets in all weathers are the tip of the iceberg – there are also thousands of families stuck in temporary accommodation with nowhere to turn.
“Private rents have climbed far beyond what ordinary working families can afford, and with so few social homes built over recent decades, there’s simply nowhere for people to go. We’re seeing more and more people coming through our doors in Manchester in desperate situations.
“Until the government delivers a new generation of social homes and unfreezes housing benefit, Shelter is here to ensure no one faces homelessness alone. But we need your help. Your donations allow us to fight alongside anyone facing homelessness, providing direct support while campaigning for lasting change. The public can join us in this fight by donating to our urgent appeal today.”
Homelessness across Greater Manchester by borough
- Manchester – 9,589 (one in every 61 people)
- Salford – 2,327 (one in every 126 people)
- Oldham – 1,347 (One in every 187 people)
- Tameside – 1,088 (one in every 220 people)
- Rochdale – 804 (one in every 293 people)
- Bury – 646 (one in every 308 people)
- Trafford – 692 (one in every 348 people)
- Bolton – 609 (one in every 509 people)
- Wigan – 596 (one in every 579 people)
- Stockport – 571 (one in every 532 people)