Doncaster’s Rough Sleeper Deaths Not Recorded

Doncaster Council has admitted that it does not record deaths of its rough sleeper population, despite promises to help homeless in the town. 

In response to a Freedom of Information request made by the media literacy charity The Student View, asking how many rough sleepers had died in Doncaster in the last five years, the council stated “We do not capture this information.” 

The council also revealed that they “do not have a defined budget or record spend specifically for assistance for rough sleepers, spend on supporting rough sleepers is part of our overall homelessness budget.”

This comes after the 2018 launch of a Rough Sleeping Initiative from the government. Phil Holmes, Director of Adults, Health and Wellbeing, told the Doncaster Free Press in March:

“It’s really clear that homelessness is an issue of concern for people and communities across Doncaster, and the partnership needs the support of communities across the whole of the borough to make the impact needed for some our most vulnerable residents.” 

He added that “over 100 people” had been supported “off the streets and into stable accommodation” in the last year. However, it is unclear how many rough sleeper deaths contribute towards any statistics indicating a decline.