Westminster to outlaw sleeping
rough and soup kitchens
Sleeping rough and soup kitchens could to be
banned near Westminster Cathedral under a contraversial proposal which has
angered homeless charities.
Westminster CIty Council has been branded
'cold-hearted and callous' over plans to ban soup runs and rough sleeping in
the centre of the capital.
The council is seeking to pass a by-law to
prevent homeless people congregating in the area around Westminster Cathedral.
Daniel Astaire, Westminster Council's cabinet
member for society, families and adult services, said: ''Soup runs have no
place in the 21st century and it is wrong and undignified that people are being
fed on the streets.
"However, soup runs on the streets in
Westminster actually encourages people to sleep rough in central London, with
all the dangers that entails."
But Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the
Labour Group, said: ''Nothing illustrates the cold-hearted and callous approach
of the Conservatives more than this attempt to criminalise those offering help
and support to homeless people in need of a hot meal and a helping hand.
''I thought that this was what the Big Society
was supposed to be all about - generous-hearted people giving their time to
those less fortunate, at no cost to the public purse. This is a nasty and mean
move from a nasty and mean Conservative Party.''
But a spokesman for the council said the measure
was being taken ''in a particular area which suffers disproportionately from
the negative impact of soup runs''.
He added: ''Westminster believes that food
handouts only serve to keep people on the streets longer, damaging their health
and life chances.
''For many years, the piazza and surrounding
area has been the destination for soup run organisations, a number of which
travel into the city from across the capital and even outside of London.
''Up to 100 people at a time can congregate on
or around the piazza while food is being given out, turning it into a no-go
area for many residents and businesses with issues around litter, urination,
violence and disorder.
''The council is now launching a consultation
with residents, businesses, local day centres and hostels and the voluntary
sector on its proposals to ban soup runs and rough sleepers in this location.
''Depending on the results, it will then seek
provisional permission from the Department for Communities and Local Government
to pass a by-law before taking it to a meeting of the full council in the
summer.
''If approved, the by-law could be in place by
October. Vulnerable individuals will not be enforced against, and all
individuals will be asked to leave the area before being subjected to any
enforcement.''
5 comments:
Seems like they are following the USA where they are trying to move shelters out of the city centers so that they can encourage the homeless away from the city and
encourage businesses back into the centers. It's a shame that the business of taking care of the poor is not a preferred business.
''Up to 100 people at a time can congregate on or around the piazza while food is being given out, turning it into a no-go area for many residents and businesses with issues around litter, urination, violence and disorder'.
Honestly, would anyone want this in or around our own homes? It's one thing to be genuinely homeless or hungry, but there is no excuse for litter, urination, violence and disorder in a civilised society.
I walked the streets of the big apple today. It seemed a little strange. Behind the locked iron gates of the SA Centennial Memorial Temple on west 14th street in NYC are the immortal "While women weep" words of the founder, but in front there is a sign that shoos away vagrants without welcoming them to an Army facility. — No loitering, sleeping, etc.
Former SA officer
Name on file
Of course, the numbers of rough sleepers in London has fallen, because if you wake someone up when counting them, they are no longer asleep, so not a rough sleeper, so cannot be included in the count.
With this new law, as long as the police wake people up to move them on, they are no longer liable to be moved, so should be left alone.
Anyone else read Alice in Wonderland?
I am appalled that we can just discard people and move them on, this is what the Salvation Army was built on, to look after those people that 'regular' churches shunned. What would Jesus say to the council?
Post a Comment