People were brought in from freezing conditions on the first night of Liverpool’s emergency weather programme
Almost two dozen rough sleepers were brought in from freezing conditions on the first night of Liverpool’s emergency weather programme. As temperatures drop right across the city, the local authority is gearing up to support those most in need of urgent housing support.
Liverpool’s trend of rough sleeping has ticked upward throughout 2024 when compared to the same period last year. The average number of people seen each night rough sleeping between April and September 2024 was 30, an increase on the average of 22 people seen per night over the same period in 2023.
On Monday, snow fell across Merseyside following a yellow weather warning issued by the Met Office. Temperatures dropped into freezing for the first time since the turn of the year, with many left outdoors to face the elements.
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Each year in preparation for winter, Liverpool Council works with local partners to ensure there are a range of additional solutions in place during the worst of the winter, including ‘sit-up’ spaces and block-booked hotel rooms. All this provision is aligned to the council’s severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP) response.
Kath Wallace, city council commissioning director, said Liverpool operates a “more generous” trigger temperature than other parts of the country with the SWEP activated when temperatures hit two degrees on any single night, compared to zero degrees for three nights or more elsewhere nationally.
The SWEP usually runs from December until March but was prompted by the sudden drop in temperatures earlier this week. Over the last three winters, Liverpool has triggered SWEP on an average of seven occasions and 25 nights each winter.
During 2023-24, 124 people were placed using SWEP, compared to 78 the year before. Ms Wallace said officials hope the reinstatement of the winter night assessment hub would take place in December.
Last winter, during the 12 weeks it operated, 148 people used the service with 130 of those staying at least one night. Almost 70% were prevented from sleeping rough at all while more than a quarter were placed after spending only a single night on the streets. The average number of individuals placed in the hub per night across its period of operation was 15 people at any one time.
The hub has been provided to the council for free during the winter period, Ms Wallace confirmed as she revealed 22 people alone required support on Monday. Additional bed and breakfast space has already been secured for those in need.
She said: “Everybody who is out has an invitation to come indoors. Unfortunately during that period not everyone will come indoors.” Ms Wallace said this decision is often taken “for a whole range of reasons” and work was ongoing to find personalised solutions for users.
Cllr Joe Hanson, chair of the committee, warned of the stark reality faced this winter. He said: “In my previous ward we had rough sleepers die and the impact on the community was quite moving.
“The community knew them and they were sadly found dead. Rough sleepers do have an impact on our community and we do need to recognise that. To the people who won’t come in, please do keep going back and asking them.”
