Organised gangs and beggars cash in on town’s ‘generosity’

ORGANISED gangs could be fuelling begging on the streets of Solihull, a report has revealed.

There were hundreds of instances of begging on the borough’s streets in the first four months of the year, official figures have revealed.

Between January and April, the authorities were contacted 292 times, compared with just 20 reports in 2017 as a whole.

Now the council has repeated warnings that many of those asking for money were not homeless and could use cash to fund drugs habits.

It is investigating allegations that organised gangs are contributed to the dramatic increase in activity – as well as fears that some people are being exploited.

In response to concerns about “aggressive” and anti-social behaviour, a borough-wide begging strategy has been drawn up.

Cllr Alison Rolf, cabinet member for stronger and safer communities, said the council was taking on a rough sleeping co-ordinator to get the best picture of different people’s circumstances. She said: “The trouble in Solihull is that people are generous, people are concerned and in some respects that’s being taken advantage of by some of these people.

“Because they know that Solihull is fairly affluent and if somebody walks past and gives you a tenner, you’re not necessarily giving it to somebody who genuinely needs that £10.

“That’s what we’re trying to get to the bottom of. Who genuinely needs our help and who are the ones who are just really thinking that we are a soft touch here in Solihull.” Cllr Flo Nash (Lab, Kingshurst & Fordbridge) said she had been “shocked” to see a couple of people on the town centre’s streets on her way to the meeting.

“It’s very hard to try and distinguish who’s genuine and who isn’t,” she said.

Cllr Ben Groom (Green, Smith’s Wood) argued it was important that offering support to those in real need was not lost by focusing on the criminal element.

“When you raise the begging issue too high up there it then paints obviously vulnerable light,” he said.

Alison McGrory, the council’s assistant director for stronger communities, said the new policy would ensure help was directed to those in need, while reducing begging.

“I would say we do not have a rough sleeper problem in Solihull, we have a begging problem,” she said. “We similarly have a homeless issue, but our homeless issue is ‘hidden homeless’.

“It’s people who are in temporary accommodation that you wouldn’t necessarily see on the street.”

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