Westminster expands rough sleeping provision to provide essential support during the winter

Westminster has some of the highest numbers of rough sleeping and homelessness in the UK, and with winter here, those who are sleeping rough are placed at higher risk of harm due to cold weather conditions.

To address this, the council is expanding its rough sleeping and homelessness provision for the winter season. This includes 158 additional bed spaces to support rough sleepers, offering accommodation, assessment and triage to facilitate move into long-term solutions.

As part of the expansion, we have formed strong partnerships with local faith and voluntary organisations to offer essential accommodation and support for rough sleepers.

We have also expanded the "No Night Out" prevention programme delivered by The Passage – an initiative that aims to break the cycle of homelessness before it begins. The service provides safe, temporary accommodation to those at risk of spending their first night on the streets. Since its launch in 2021, the programme has supported 256 people into accommodation.

Other support includes a day centre and accommodation provision delivered by Crisis at Christmas – both vital services that the council has played a key role in supporting.

Weather conditions during the winter are generally harsh, and there are cases when conditions may become severe. In those circumstances the Greater London Authority (GLA) will activate the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), prompting temporary responses to support those sleeping rough in severe weather.

SWEP has already been activated in November this year, and in Westminster we supported 101 individuals into accommodation during this period. If SWEP is activated again, the council is prepared to make additional spaces available based on demand.

The following day centres will be open in Westminster during the winter to support clients:  

The Passage Day Centre – St Vincent’s Centre, Carlisle Pl, London, SW1P 1NL

Open 9am-12pm and 1pm-3:30pm Monday to Friday

Connections at St Martin’s – 12 Adelaide Street, London, WC2N 4HW

Open 9:30am-1:30pm Monday to Friday for drop-in (Wednesday women only)

Open times may differ on the bank holidays, see below:

Crisis at Christmas Day Centre – Pimlico Day Centre, Pimlico Academy, 36 Lupus Street, SW1V 3AT

Open 24^th December – 28^th December, 10am-5pm.

If someone is seen rough sleeping, you can make a StreetLink referral which goes directly to our outreach team. Both the individual and location can be described so the teams are able to target the individual and offer support if not already known. To make a referral visit this link: StreetLink - Connecting people sleeping rough to local services

Cabinet member for Housing Services, Cllr Liza Begum said:

“Although the council provides and commissions homelessness services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it is vital that we expand this support as weather conditions worsen.

Significant steps have been made to ensure that we can support those sleeping rough during the winter and respond to a SWEP if it is activated.

The importance of the faith and voluntary sector in homelessness provision cannot be overstated, the council is grateful to have built strong partnerships with these local organisations to provide essential services all year round – especially during the Winter.”