London's cold weather protocol is on until Monday 16 November, so anyone sleeping rough in Barnet can be brought inside. Report them through StreetLink.

Overview

London’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been switched on from Friday 13 November and is expected to run until Monday 16 November, with temperatures forecast to fall to 0°C or below. In Barnet, the protocol gives emergency accommodation to anyone sleeping rough in the borough. If you see someone sleeping out in Finchley, Edgware, Golders Green or anywhere else in Barnet, report it to StreetLink online or on 0300 500 0914, and the outreach team will try to find them.

Anyone sleeping rough in Barnet this weekend can be offered a warm place indoors until at least Monday. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and London Councils activated the protocol across the capital on Friday 13 November, the first time it has been used this winter.

City Hall said London boroughs and homelessness charities will open extra emergency accommodation, and the Mayor funds a London-wide overflow service to provide more places where they are needed.

How it works in Barnet

Rough sleeping in the borough is handled by the Rough Sleeper Team at Barnet Homes, the council’s housing company. Its support for rough sleepers page says Barnet’s protocol “operates during periods of severe weather to provide emergency accommodation for all rough sleepers in the borough”.

Places are reached through three routes, Barnet Homes says: the outreach services, the Barnet Homes Housing Options service, and Homeless Action in Barnet. A StreetLink alert is how outreach workers learn where someone is.

Barnet Homes also runs:

  • Barnet Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub, a 17-bed assessment hub giving an immediate “off the streets” offer, with support from Homeless Action in Barnet. It is a short stay, with the aim of moving people on to settled, long-term homes.
  • Rough Sleeper Accommodation Pathway, funding to buy 55 homes as long-term accommodation for people who have slept rough, let on two-year tenancies at London Affordable Rent with support for the tenants.

The day centre run by Homeless Action in Barnet is at 36B Woodhouse Road, North Finchley, N12 0RG, with a drop-in from Monday to Friday, 9am to 12.30pm. Barnet Homes lists hot meals, showers, laundry, medical services, free internet, a clothes store and housing advice there, with a DWP benefits adviser on Thursdays and drug and alcohol support from Change Grow Live on Tuesdays.

How to help someone sleeping rough

  1. Note where the person is as precisely as you can: the street, the doorway, the nearest shop, bus stop or station, and the time you saw them.
  2. Send the details to StreetLink, or ring 0300 500 0914 if you cannot get online. StreetLink passes them to the local outreach team.
  3. If you are sleeping rough yourself, or about to lose your home, Barnet Homes Housing Options is on 020 8610 3539.

The Mayor said: “If you see someone sleeping rough, please let StreetLink know so an outreach team can try to find them and offer help.”

Coming inside, and staying inside

City Hall and London Councils encourage boroughs to follow the Mayor’s “In for Good” approach: while someone is in emergency accommodation, staff assess what support they need and look at longer-term options, rather than sending them back out when the cold snap ends.

“No one should have to sleep on the streets, and freezing temperatures can put lives at risk,” Sadiq Khan said. “That’s why we’re working with London boroughs and homelessness charities to open extra emergency accommodation and help people sleeping rough get somewhere warm and safe.

“Coming indoors can be the first step towards getting off the streets for good. We want people to get the support they need to find a longer-term place to stay.”

Cllr Anthony Okereke, London Councils’ executive member for housing and homelessness, said: “Councils across London provide targeted support for people sleeping rough every day. SWEP measures are a crucial part of that work, helping to ensure every Londoner has access to a warm, safe place to stay, saving lives.

“But our efforts must go beyond immediate protection from the cold. It is vital that we help people into safe, settled accommodation for the long term. We will continue to work closely with the Mayor and local partners, supporting the government’s ambition to eradicate rough sleeping and strengthening our collective efforts to end homelessness across the capital.”

A new trigger in some boroughs

This winter some boroughs are trialling what City Hall calls Enhanced SWEP. They will open extra emergency places when the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office issue a Cold Health Alert for London, even if temperatures are forecast to stay above freezing, so people can be brought in during long spells of harsh weather. City Hall has not said which boroughs are in the trial. The London-wide trigger stays at 0°C.

The numbers

  • Last winter SWEP was active for 11 nights, and London boroughs gave emergency accommodation to 1,491 people during those activations.
  • City Hall says more than 21,000 people have been helped off London’s streets since 2016, and three quarters have stayed off for good.
  • In 2025/26, City Hall’s rough sleeping budget was more than five times the £8.45m a year it was when the Mayor took office.

City Hall has not published a Barnet figure for last winter’s activations.