The Mayor of London has opened emergency shelters for rough sleepers across the capital as temperatures are set to fall below zero degrees.

Emergency shelters were previously opened in individual boroughs depending on need but this meant that their provision was often inconsistent, but Mayor of London Sadiq Khan now agreed with councils they will be opened London-wide.

Mr Khan said: “As the temperatures plummet tonight, all emergency shelters across London will be open.

“Our approach means shelters will now open London-wide if it falls below zero anywhere in the capital, helping us get more rough sleepers off the streets and into support to help turn their lives around.

“I urge Londoners to refer any rough sleepers they see to StreetLink, and to donate – via our new TAP London contactless donation points or online – to charities providing extra services to tackle and prevent rough sleeping.”

Mr Khan has also worked with boroughs to sign up to the In For Good principle- which means any rough sleeper who goes into emergency shelter will be accommodated until there is a support plan to help take them off the streets in the long-term.

In June Mr Khan published a Plan of Action, which set out how he planned to tackle rough sleeping in London.

As part of the plans he called for a government investment of £574 million over the next five years to provide a long-term solution to get rough sleepers off the streets.

The mayor also secured £3.3 from government ministers to tackle homelessness and has pledged to use this to reduce rough sleeping.

Measures he plans to introduce to tackle rough sleeping include doubling the number of outreach workers in his London Street Rescue team and improving access to mental health services for rough sleepers.