The number of people sleeping rough on the streets has fallen by more than a third in Oxford, according to a Government report published today.

The Government's Rough Sleepers Unit said a recent count showed there were 31 homeless people on the city's streets, compared with 52 in 1999. The figure for 1998 was 39.

The survey showed that there are now around 1,180 homeless people on the streets in England.

That represents a 28 per cent decrease on this time last year and a 36 per cent reduction on the year before. The new figures were released by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, alongside details of where an additional 9.5m will be spent to further cut the number of rough sleepers.

The publication of the Unit's Progress Report to the Prime Minister puts it on course to meet Tony Blair's target of reducing the number of people sleeping rough by at least two-thirds by 2002.

Louise Casey, head of the Unit, said: We know the job of helping people who bed down on streets night after night is not easy. "The solutions for rough sleepers addicted to drugs, alcohol or with mental health problems are not cheap or basic."