Heatwave support for rough sleepers in Somerset has been described as a postcode lottery following a new investigation.
Rough sleepers in Somerset are facing a postcode lottery of support during extreme heatwaves, a new investigation has found.
The county is among several areas where councils failed to activate the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) during the record-breaking heatwave in late May.
The investigation, published this week in the Big Issue and conducted in partnership with the Pavement magazine, examined how 40 councils across England responded to intense heat and uncovered major gaps in emergency provision through Freedom of Information requests.
This included Somerset Council.
Catherine Parsons, managing director of the Big Issue, said: "Rough sleepers are being let down by a lack of coherence and consistency in the activation of severe weather emergency protocol.
"This investigation shows a postcode lottery of patchwork support being offered across London and other councils with high levels of rough sleeping – a jigsaw puzzle that just doesn’t match up.
"All levels of government are failing to grasp the impact and severity of increasingly extreme heat beating down on rough sleepers.
"It is falling on service providers like Big Issue to equip people with what they need to stay safe in this extreme weather."
Despite reaching the UK’s hottest-ever May temperature of 35.1°C, several councils with high rough sleeping numbers did not activate SWEP, including Somerset, Leeds, Cornwall, and Nottingham.
In response, Somerset Council reiterated that SWEP is activated when temperatures hit a high threshold.
A spokesperson for the council said: "Our outreach teams automatically trigger the summer SWEP protocol when the Met Office predicts temperatures above 26°C.
"During this period, support offered to people sleeping rough included sun hats, sun cream, isotonic drinks, water and directions to cool spaces.
"Our specialist outreach staff are trained to recognise signs of heat-related conditions, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and can refer people into outreach health services where needed.
"Accommodation is considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the level of risk, including any risk to life.
"The council reviews its SWEP policy regularly and continues to liaise with neighbouring authorities to align best practice.
“Anyone concerned about someone sleeping rough in Somerset during severe weather can make a referral through Street Link at thestreetlink.org.uk."
However, according to the Freedom of Information request, Somerset Council said SWEP "wasn't activated in May, therefore no resources were made available at that specific time," adding that it was last activated in January 2026 as a result of cold weather.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, also did not call a capital-wide SWEP response, instead leaving the decision to individual boroughs.
Out of London’s 33 authorities, 20 confirmed activating SWEP, but support varied significantly.
More than half – 55 per cent – offered emergency accommodation only to those deemed "most vulnerable" under strict criteria, while 30 per cent provided no emergency housing, instead focusing on outreach teams distributing bottled water, sunscreen, and directing rough sleepers to "cool spaces."
The full findings are available to view at bigissue.com/news/housing/swep-homelessness-heatwave-2026.
A separate study by the Museum of Homelessness found that just 53 per cent of English councils had heat-related measures in place between 2022 and 2024.
Sir Sadiq said: "Historically, we’ve always thought about helping rough sleepers when it’s cold, for obvious reasons, around Christmas time.
"But actually, because heatwaves are becoming a norm, the new reality, we’ve got to repivot our minds to also think about summer as well."
