THE number of rough sleepers in Greater Manchester has fallen by almost a third across since last year, it’s been revealed.

New government figures show 151 people sleeping on the city-region’s streets on a single night last autumn – the lowest it’s been since 2015.

Rough sleeping fell by more than a quarter in Manchester, though the city still has the fourth highest number of people sleeping rough in England.

Meanwhile, only one person was found sleeping rough in Trafford on the night of the count.

City mayor Andy Burnham said the 37 per cent regional decline is largely down to his flagship scheme "A Bed Every Night", which he wants to be rolled out nationally.

Around 3,400 people have been helped since its introduction, with 1,250 moving on to longer-term accommodation. A further 84 people have been helped off the streets through Housing First.

Mr Burnham said: “Tonight in Greater Manchester around 450 people will be in shelters across our 10 boroughs.

“This is only happening because Greater Manchester has pulled together and raised funds to help people sleeping rough, alongside the goodwill of hundreds of volunteers.

“These figures suggest our approach is working and that the country could end this crisis much more quickly and save lives if the government was to help us fund A Bed Every Night and adopt it more widely.”

Boris Johnson has pledged an extra £236 million to support people sleeping rough, or at imminent risk, into stable "move on" accommodation.

The prime minister, who described the numbers of rough sleepers across the country as "simply unacceptable", has also commissioned an urgent review into the issue.

But while welcoming the announcement, Mr Burnham wants the prime minister to bring in much wider reform of policies that have a "direct impact" on homelessness.

This includes the freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) which, since 2016, has seen more people becoming homeless because their benefits can’t cover rising rents.

“It is not enough for the government to end the freeze – they must now restore benefits to levels of actual rents,” Mr Burnham added.

There are also calls for a review of the "no public recourse to funds" policy, which prevents some non-UK nationals access to benefits, and an end to no-fault evictions.

Salford mayor Cllr Paul Dennett, who leads on homelessness and housing for the Greater Manchester combined authority, also suggested the suspension of "Right to Buy".

He said: “Urgent action is required to tackle the real causes of the housing, homelessness and rough sleeping crisis.”

Cllr Dennett added that it was "simply unsustainable" for the government to expect local authorities to fund solutions themselves "10 years into a period of austerity and swingeing cuts".

The government’s review will be helmed by Tony Blair’s former homelessness tsar Dame Louise Casey, who will report to the prime minister and Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick.

Mr Jenrick said: “We will be bringing together housing, addiction, mental health and the criminal justice system as never before to tackle this social ill from every angle.

“The coordinated effort that we will now pursue, beginning with this review, builds on the progress we have made in recent years, reducing the number of people sleeping on the streets.”