The Government will miss its rough sleeping target unless it takes action now, The Salvation Army has warned.

While the Government pledged in its election manifesto to end rough sleeping by the end of this Parliament, the organisation warns that there has been a 165% increase in people on the streets in the last decade. 

The Salvation Army is asking MPs to lobby the Government to prioritise funding towards homelessness eradication measures in order to meet its target by 2025. 

The call coincides with a recent poll by the think tank, Bright Blue, which found that over two thirds of the public (68%) did not believe the Government would deliver on its promise to end rough sleeping. 

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that an estimated 726 people who were homeless died in England and Wales in 2018 - the highest year-on-year increase (22%) since records began in 2013.

The Salvation Army's Assistant Secretary for Homelessness Services, Major Hilarie Watchorn, warned that homelessness was increasingly becoming a problem in smaller towns beyond the traditional city context.

"Unless urgent action is taken, the Government is not going to meet its commitment to end rough sleeping," she said. 

"Rough sleeping used to be considered an inner city problem but the issue is creeping out of city centres and into suburbs and towns.

"No-one should be forced to sleep rough whether in a city or elsewhere but we are hoping that because it has become so visible, local MPs will be forced to acknowledge the scale of the problem and lobby Government for essential action."

The Salvation Army is calling on the Government to publish an updated roadmap of how it plans to meet its ambitious target, and consider expanding and extending its Rough Sleeping Initiative.  

The Rough Sleeping Initiative was launched in March 2018 targeting local authorities with the highest numbers of people sleeping rough.  The aim was to support rough sleepers in coming off the streets, and develop their wellbeing and stability. 

Major Watchorn added: "The most vulnerable people in our communities need action now, not tomorrow, not next year. I urge our members, officers, employees and supporters to call on their MP so that, with our collective voice, we can ensure ending rough sleeping doesn't fall off the list of Government priorities."

She continued: "The detrimental impact of sleeping rough on people's mental health means that the longer someone is living on the streets the more entrenched problems such as drug and alcohol dependency become.

"The people we help are struggling with the many issues that have led them to sleeping rough, such as domestic violence, childhood trauma, relationship breakdown, as well as mental ill health. Please help us ensure the Government sticks to its manifesto pledge and help end rough sleeping for good."