The Director of Audit on Wednesday said there’s been a significant jump in the number of street sleepers in Hong Kong, and urged the government to provide them with more support.

The Audit Commission said in a report that the number of registered street sleepers increased by 2.6 times over the past decade – from 595 in 2013 to 1,564 this year – while those aged 50 or above even jumped 3.3 times in the same period.

The commission said the Social Welfare Department offered three NGOs HK$30 million in grants last year to provide support services for the homeless, but found that the groups were only able to reach 27 percent of the registered street sleepers.

It urged the Social Welfare Department to review and monitor the services being provided.

The Director of Social Welfare agreed with the audit recommendations.