On Saturday 7th December, the world will unite to help fight homeless and displaced people with what is thought to be the largest charitable fundraising campaign in a generation, The World's Big Sleep Out.

Those working in councils know first-hand that more and more people face the prospect of homelessness daily. Since 2010, the number of rough sleepers in England has increased by an astonishing 165%. Rough sleeping and its tragic effects is sweeping across the entire country - and also increasing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Last year, an estimated 4,677 people were sleeping on the streets on any one night and there are suggestions that this number is actually much higher. Worse still, homeless people are dying on the streets with an average of two deaths per week in the UK.