Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many ex-service personnel (a) in each service, (b) of (i) regular and (ii) reserve status and (c) who (i) have and (ii) have not completed a pensionable engagement have been classified as rough sleepers in each year since 2000.

The Department does not collect statistics on whether or not people sleeping rough have served in the armed forces.

However, the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) a multi-agency database that represents the UK's most detailed and comprehensive source of information on rough sleeping in London. According to CHAIN, 3 per cent of the rough sleeping population in London have self-declared as having served in the armed forces.

This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.