Maari Nastari, Jess Turtle and Andrea Gilbert

A WESTMINSTER rough sleeper dies every 10 days – on average – according to new figures.

The shocking statistics, the third highest number of victims anywhere in the country, were released by the Museum of Homelessness ahead of a vigil in Whitehall, outside Downing Street, last night (Thursday).

Candles were lit in memory of the 33 who died in the last year and in protest at continual failings surrounding homelessness. Westminster traditionally has a higher population because homeless people come from all over the country to central London as a first port of call.

Co-founder of the museum Jess Turtle said: “These findings are a hammer blow. It’s heart-breaking to see so many people dying and to feel so helpless in the face of such a serious emergency. Government neglect means things keep getting worse with new provisions for mental health, addiction and social housing failing to make up for previous cuts.”

The group believes that 90 per cent of the deaths occurred in public-funded accommodation, once people were supposedly safe inside.

Co-founder Matt Turtle said: “Too many people are dying in dangerous accommodation run by unregulated landlords and funded by the taxpayer.”

In total he estimates that private-rented accommodation takes away £800million from the public purse.

Taking the message on rough sleeping to Whitehall. Photo: Isabelle Stanley

Mr Turtle added: “The government needs to urgently regulate these businesses, providing proper oversight so people are protected and our taxes stop funding negligent landlords.”

The museum warned that with the cost of living crisis set to push 1.3million more people into poverty, more lives will be at risk and Westminster City Council must be prepared to do more to prevent the number of deaths increasing this year.

The council said the number of people sleeping rough had decreased thanks to its around-the-clock working outreach teams. The latest street count, in January, reported the number of people sleeping rough was at the lowest level for three years. It said more than 650 rough sleepers had been helped into accommodation directly from the street in the last year.

In February the borough’s cabinet member for communities and regeneration, Heather Acton, said: “In Westminster rough sleeping is like nowhere else in the country.

“A large proportion of people who sleep on our streets here do not have a connection to the city. The council spends more than £7million per year on supporting rough sleepers, with additional funding made available from central government, which is more than any other local authority in the UK.”