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Are there just nine rough sleepers in the whole of South Yorkshire?
A GOVERNMENT minister has questioned the credibility of figures which claim just nine people are sleeping rough in South Yorkshire.
Housing minister Grant Shapps has ordered an overhaul of the way street sleepers are counted amid fears the true figure could be more than treble previous official counts.
Local authorities currently only have to count the number of rough sleepers in their area if they believe there is a problem.
An official count published on July 15 showed there were 440 rough sleepers in England.
But that only included research by 70 councils and only one in South Yorkshire - Doncaster, which reported five rough sleepers in the borough.
A further 256 councils later provided estimates adding a further 807 rough sleepers – leading to a national total of 1,247.
Sheffield Council estimated just three people were sleeping rough in the city, while there was believed to be one rough in Barnsley and none in Rotherham.
In comparison, the much smaller Chichester council said it had 15 rough sleepers, while the tiny Arun district council in West Sussex believed it had 25.
A spokeswoman for Mr Shapps said: "He does not believe that figure of 440 is a credible figure. We need a proper overhaul and a proper system in place that reflects the situation on the streets."
The government is now consulting on plans to force councils to carry out a full head count or make an estimate of rough sleepers every year.
The counting procedure will also be beefed up as bizarrely, only those who are lying down are included but the government wants to count those sitting or standing near their bedding.
Mr Shapps said: "We need a measure we can all rely on if we are to bring people in off the streets and give them a long-term future."
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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