A record number of homeless people died last year, in the biggest increase in deaths since reporting began, amid warnings fatalities are likely to be even higher in 2019.
Charities and MPs have said austerity and cuts to services are driving a worsening homelessness crisis, as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that an estimated 726 homeless people died in England and Wales in 2018. This is a 22% rise from 2017 and the biggest increase since the data was first collected in 2013.
