Investigation into the housing of rough sleepers during the COVID-19 pandemic

This investigation is part of a programme of work NAO are undertaking to support Parliament’s scrutiny of the government’s response to COVID-19.

In this report NAO set out the steps taken by the Department in rehousing rough sleepers in England during the pandemic, focusing particularly on

• the steps taken at the outset of the pandemic;
• the information held by the Department on those at risk of rough sleeping;
• and subsequent steps that the Department has taken to provide long-term accommodation to those at risk of rough sleeping.

This NAO report primarily covers the period between March and November 2020.

It is a ‘facts only’ account of the Department’s actions and is not a value-for-money evaluation.

While NAO set out the spending by local authorities on rough sleeping in this report, NAO will cover the financial response of local authorities to COVID-19 as a whole in a value-for-money report due for publication later in 2021.