In spite of assurances by government, rough sleeping by homeless people is still a significant problem in Britain's towns and cities say campaigners, following a head count in the nation's capital.

More than 200 people are still sleeping on the streets of central London despite policies to stop them bedding down which have included spraying them with water.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is calling on all Christians to hold special services this Easter in aid of Shelter’s work with homeless and badly housed families.

A new website called 'Faith in Affordable Housing' is being launched today at Church House Westminster, headquarters of the Church of England.It aims to help churches use land and property to meet housing needs.

People living and working with the homeless in central London have said it is hard to have faith in the Government's initiatives for rough sleepers, whilst it continues to deny the scale of the problem.

St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London and campaigning network Housing Justice will next week hold an Annual Service of Commemoration for those homeless people who have died in the capital in the past year.

In the inaugural Housing Justice lecture, the charity's chief executive Alison Gelder has spoken of the need to change the values of society so that we think of houses as homes rather than assets.