To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of people sleeping rough in (a) Northamptonshire, (b) Wellingborough and (c) England in each of the last five years; and what projection she has made of the numbers in 2007. (110911)

The Government have published an estimate of the number of rough sleepers in England each year since 1998, based on the returns and counts by local authorities. At that time the Prime Minister introduced a target to achieve a two thirds reduction in the numbers of those sleeping rough by 2002 from 1,850. The target was achieved in 2001 and is being sustained. The following table shows the historical data for Wellingborough, Northamptonshire and England based on the submissions by local authorities.

The Government make no projection of numbers sleeping rough. Local authorities submit the outcome of a count, or their estimate, in their Housing Strategy and Statistical Appendix each year. It is these local authority figures that are published each September in the national rough sleeping estimate.