“English annual rough sleeping statistics are compiled from a street count taken by local authorities on one night in October or November.
“Street counts can only ever be a snapshot of the night they were taken. While they are usually reasonably accurate, their main value is in assessing trends over time.
"Last November we counted 46 people sleeping rough. This figure was skewed by a single transient group of people who arrived in Oxford a few nights before the count and left shortly afterwards.
“We work closely with outreach and assessment services we commission from St Mungo's to understand who is sleeping on our streets and to offer people the support they need to leave homelessness behind.
“If the count had been a week earlier or later, we would have counted 25 or 26 people. This is still too many - nobody should have to sleep rough in Oxford - yet it would have been a more accurate reflection of how many people we were expecting to see on the night of the count.”
Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing
Rate this page
