This Is Why25 Syys 2023

'I just want a normal life': How do we end rough sleeping?

Ian Harrison is 33 and has spent his adult life on the streets. He's among more than an estimated 270,000 homeless people in England.

Sky News has been following Ian's journey as a government promise - to end rough sleeping by next year - looks in serious doubt.

It was a target set by the Conservatives in their 2019 election manifesto - but a report by the Kerslake Commission is warning it will be missed, blaming "chronic and unresolved" issues in the housing system as it reports a 26% rise in rough sleeping compared with last year.

The commission was set up in 2021 to learn lessons from the response to homelessness during the COVID pandemic - the same year, an estimated 741 homeless people died in England and Wales. Most were men and drugs, alcohol and suicide were the likely related causes.

On the Sky News Daily, Sally Lockwood speaks to our producer Sarah O'Connell, who first met Ian when he was a teenager, to find out about the challenges he has faced over the years.

Plus, Sally is joined by Emma Haddad, chief executive of the homelessness charity St Mungo's - the secretariat of the Kerslake Commission, as they discuss the wider problems and what they think is needed to end rough sleeping.

While we've got you... please take a few moments to let us know your thoughts on our podcasts and your listening preferences by filling in a short survey - click here.

Podcast producers: Soila Apparicio and Alex Edden
Senior podcast producer: Annie Joyce
Podcast promotion producer: David Chipakupaku
Editor: Wendy Parker

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(1000)

Why grooming gang ringleader cannot be deported

He’s a convicted child rapist who’s been stripped of his British citizenship. But the ringleader of a notorious Rochdale grooming gang – released from jail this week – cannot be removed from the UK.Sh...

2 Heinä 21min

Why Trump’s Iran war is finally costing UK households

Whether you’ve been enjoying or enduring the summer heatwave, running that new air-con unit has just got a whole lot more expensive.For millions of people across England, Scotland and Wales the cost o...

1 Heinä 14min

Why Burnham’s housebuilding boom is doomed

Every prime minister promises ambitious plans to build new homes – every prime minister in more than half a century has failed. Andy Burnham says he’ll be different.The former Manchester mayor is on t...

30 Kesä 17min

Why British waters are less safe under defence drone plans

Drones in, destroyers out. The Royal Navy looks set to be the biggest losers when the Defence Investment Plan is finally published. Instead of building a new fleet of state-of-the-art warships, we wil...

29 Kesä 15min

Why the King's tax return leaves unanswered questions

The King has revealed how much income tax he pays, becoming the first monarch to ever do so. The Palace said the move was “increasing transparency”, but have the royals given us the full picture? Nia...

26 Kesä 15min

Why we're in the dark on defence under Andy Burnham

It's all a little awkward. Sir Keir Starmer is set to deliver his defence spending proposals to NATO next month, despite having lost both his job and his defence secretary.But the outgoing PM seems de...

25 Kesä 17min

Why is the UK feeling the heat more than ever?

When an event discussing extreme heat at London Climate Week is called off due to... extreme heat, you know things are bad. In the words of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, “London is cooking.” ...

24 Kesä 22min

Why Brexit will define Burnham’s relationship with Europe

A decade to the day since the Brexit referendum, the European Union has postponed a proposed summit to reset the UK’s relationship with Europe. Following the fall of the Starmer premiership, Brussels ...

23 Kesä 20min