Bedford Borough Council officers have reported an "emerging rise" in the number of nights people are sleeping rough compared with 2024-25, according to a report due to be discussed by councillors next week.

A briefing for the council’s Housing Committee (Wednesday, June 17) states that in June 2024, just over 50% of people sleeping rough had slept rough for one night and just over 10% had slept rough for more than 10 nights.

The report states that in June 2025, approximately 25% of people sleeping rough had slept rough for one night and more than 50% had slept rough for more than 10 nights.

Most people are already homeless by the time they ask Bedford council for help

Bedford Borough Council officers have reported an "emerging rise" in the number of nights people are sleeping rough compared with 2024-25 (File picture: Pixabay)

It adds that: “Wider economic factors and the availability of affordable suitable accommodation is likely to be having a significant impact”, but further analysis is underway to establish the causes.

The report says rough sleeping remains a “significant” national issue, in 2025 there were 4,793 people in England rough sleeping on a single night snapshot – the fourth annual increase in a row.

Bedford borough’s annual single-night rough sleeping figure for 2025 was 23, which was an increase on the previous year.

The report says the monthly single-night snapshot in Bedford borough averaged 13 people sleeping rough each night during 2025-26, while an average of 43 individuals were known to have slept rough during a month (140 individuals were known to have slept rough in the borough during 2025-26).

According to the briefing, the average number of people new to rough sleeping each month was nine, while the average number returning to rough sleeping each month was three.

The report states that relationship or family breakdown and eviction from supported housing were the most common causes identified in the council’s data.

Officers report that 62% of people experiencing rough sleeping during 2025-26 were supported to move off the streets into a safe place to stay, either short-term accommodation as part of an agreed support pathway or longer-term settled housing.

The report also notes that current rough sleeping support contracts expire on September 30, 2026, and a review of the existing model has identified an opportunity to “reshape” rough sleeping services and that bringing rough sleeping services in-house is under consideration.

The Housing Committee is due to discuss the report on June 17. If residents have questions on this report, or how the council handles rough sleeping, they can email them via [email protected] by noon on the day of the meeting.