'I'll end plight of London's rough sleepers by 2012,' pledges Boris

13 February 2009

BORIS Johnson has pledged to end ‘rough sleeping’ on the streets by 2012—when London stages the next Olympics.

The Mayor gave his pledge today to homeless men and women at the launch of the London Delivery Board, a new body cutting red tape by bringing different agencies together.

“It’s scandalous in 21st century that people have to resort to sleeping on the streets,” he said.

“I have pledged to end rough sleeping by 2012. That this is an ambitious commitment in the recession, when many say we should focus on other priorities.

“But we must not lose sight of those less fortunate without a roof over their heads.”

Half the country’s rough sleepers are in London, around 3,000 over the course of a year. London is the only region in the country that has failed to meet the Government’s 1998 target to reduce rough sleeping by two-thirds.

One reason blamed for the failure has been lack of a co-ordinated response across geographical and organisation boundaries.

The new board aims to cut the bureaucracy as part of the mayor’s commitment to tackle rough sleeping.