A vigil held in Downing Street for people who died experiencing homelessness [Lucinda McPherson]

THE number of people dying while experi­encing homelessness is rising around the UK, an independent report has found.

Since 2017, Finsbury Park’s Museum of Homelessness (MoH) has documented deaths on the streets and in temporary accom­modation across the country for its Dying Homeless Project.

Its latest findings show that while the number of deaths in London fell in 2025, the number of deaths nationwide rose nearly 7 per cent compared to the previous year.

The Tribune asked MoH director Matt Turtle what bearing this has on Andy Burnham’s commitment to end rough sleeping.

“The incoming prime minister has made it one of the main cornerstones of his policy agenda and is talking about trying to ‘get everyone in’,” he explained – this approach means providing accommodation to everybody who is rough sleeping.

Matt Turtle at the vigil: ‘How can we build an ecosystem of compassionate services?’ [Anthony Luvera]

“We’ve not seen this level of focus on homelessness before, and I recognise that there are people that might really benefit from that.

“But on the other hand, ‘everyone in’ was the Covid response. Only one out of four of the people who were put into emergency accommodation during the pandemic retained stable housing over the long term.

“And, overall, the homelessness system is all about cheap pay-by-night accommodation – the whole system is just bloated on spending to source emergency accommodation at all costs, while not enough money is going to frontline, trauma-conscious services.”

As well as sustained funding for longer-term support, the govern­ment needs bold, even experimental policies to make Mr Burnham’s commitment work.

“It’s not just about money,” Mr Turtle added. “It’s also about the willingness to be brave and try things out.

“The question is how do we build an ecosystem of compassionate services – some grassroots, some commissioned by the council – that can support people?

“And how can we make better routes for people to move on from homelessness?”