Victimising rough sleepers is wrong

Published: 1 April, 2011

• THE numbers sleeping rough in London have declined considerably in recent years, thanks to the growing experience and professionalism of voluntary organisations and active government attention and investment. 

Westminster Green Party believes that this trend will be reversed by the coalition government’s policy of cuts, which will both increase unemployment while reducing the social services available to ameliorate its effects. 

We therefore completely oppose Westminster City Council’s proposal to ban or criminalise rough sleeping. 

Victimising rough sleepers is just one step away from justifying denying them support. 

We call instead for a public commitment by the city council that the most vulnerable in our society – those without basic shelter – will not be the ones to suffer from the government’s austerity package.

Thanks to the efforts and funding of voluntary organisations and local authorities there is an extensive network of free, indoor eating facilities for the homeless and disadvantaged across London and those in Westminster must continue to be supported if outdoor soup runs are to be discouraged. 

If Westminster City Council is serious, as it claims, in preferring sustainable solutions to homelessness, it must publicly commit to that funding.

ALASTAIR MILNE
Chair, Westminster 
Green Party