Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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April – May 2024 : Compassion READ ONLINE

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Westminster plan ban

March 10 2011
Council wants to criminalise rough sleeping and soup runs


On 24 February, Westminster City Council announced a consultation period for a new byelaw, which will ban rough sleeping and the operation of soup runs within its borough.

The consultation, by director of housing Rosemary Westbrook, runs until 25 March, and covers a draft byelaw for "good rule and government" which will make "lying down and sleeping etc" and the "distribution of free refreshment" an offence. The penalty will be a fine. The rationale behind this byelaw is Westminster City Council's conviction that readers should "make use of building-based services" rather than sleeping out.

As we go to press, Housing Justice is holding a meeting to discuss responses to this proposal. We will be present, and have the relevant documents on our website, so that readers can consider their own response to the consultation.

•  The consultation document and proposed byelaw are posted on our website.

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