Minister says it's 'a shame that so many people are homeless' despite Tories being in power for 10 years

Tory MP, Robert Jenrick, has said that is is a "moral shame" that people are sleeping rough in the UK but people have been quick to point out that the Tories have had 10 years to deal with the issue.

Speaking to Kay Burley on Sky News the MP for Newark and secretary of state for housing, communities and local government said:

It's a moral shame on this country that we have so many people sleeping rough.

This came before figures released by the government on Thursday have shown that the amount of people sleeping rough in the UK has fallen by 9 per cent compared to the previous year.

These numbers have been discovered after a study was conducted by local councils of people sleeping rough on one night in autumn 2019. 4,266 people were counted which was a 2 per cent decrease from results found in 2018.

The report also found that 11 per cent fewer people were sleeping rough in London and there was a 12 per cent decrease in areas that had received funding and extra support.

Furthermore, the government have announced that an extra £236 million will be distributed to get more people off the street, with Dame Louis Casey set to lead an independent review into the causes of homelessness.

However, the figures have already come under scrutiny by Labour's shadow housing secretary John Healey and the housing charity Crisis who said that it did not present a full overview of the problem, with Healey adding the findings were "seriously misleading as it dramatically undercounts the number of people sleeping rough" and had been reported to the UK Statistics Authority.

Elsewhere, others have been quick to point out that the current government has been in power since 2010 and could have acted on homelessness a lot sooner.

More: How to help a homeless person you see sleeping rough in the cold