Sadiq Khan accused of ‘lip service’ over homeless offer
The Mayor of London has been accused of paying “lip service” to rough sleepers in London after it emerged his team had made no contact with homeless people set to be evicted from an unused building in the capital, despite claiming to have done so.
More than 100 people are set to move out onto the streets today after a judge ruled a derelict office block which has been housing rough sleepers over the past two weeks must be evicted.
Sadiq Khan claimed his team had spoken to Westminster Council and made sure “help is at hand” for the rough sleepers following the eviction, saying there had been a “direct” offer of support.
But The Independent has learned that Streets Kitchen, the grassroots group that has been in charge of the squat, has received no communication from Mayor’s Office or Westminster Council with regards to what will happen to the residents of the shelter.
Following the court decision, Mr Khan said in a statement: “It’s shocking that some people sleeping rough feel they have no other option than to sleep in a derelict building. Ministers have simply got to do more to invest in services that provide a warm bed and a proper route off the streets for good.
“My team have spoken to Westminster Council and made sure help is at hand, and we have made a direct offer of my ‘No Second Night Out’ service as an extra protection for those rough sleepers when they are moved on from Great Portland Street.”
The Mayor also announced over the weekend that 24/7 services providing shelter for rough sleepers would open up, in line with a policy he introduced in December requiring them to open whenever temperatures fall below zero.
But Jon Glackin, who runs Streets Kitchen, told The Independent the authorities had made no attempt to reach out to the group in order to come up with a solution, and that most of the rough sleepers faced no option but to go back onto the streets following the eviction.
“No one has contacted me or Streets Kitchen. No emails, no phone calls. The only way I’m hearing about stuff is through journalists,” he said.
“We have been here for two weeks. Everybody has heard of this place. If, God forbid, there was a landslide in Chelsea and 100 residents were made homeless, Sadiq Khan would be straight down there. But we’ve got 100 people about to hit the streets he’s nowhere to be seen.
“They say they’ve offered direct support but we haven’t seen it. It’s just lip service they’re paying to resolving homelessness. They’re not stepping up and doing what they should be doing.”
Westminster Council refuted the claims, saying its outreach teams had been to the makeshift shelter and offered support services at least once and that it had more than 400 beds available for people with genuine housing needs.
Mr Glackin said they had decided to evacuate the premises today in a “dignified” manner rather than wait to be forced out. Over the past few days, Streets Kitchen has been appealing to members of the public for
funds to pay for sleeping bags on the assumption that people will end up back on the streets.
“Everybody is a bit nervous today because they’re going to hit the streets tomorrow. Nobody knows what they’re going to do. It’s quite traumatic,” he said.
“We’ve been rolling around in a van, trying to buy as many sleeping bags as we can with our recent appeal. At the very least we will hand people a good sleeping bag that we know will keep people alive that night.”
The freezing temperatures in recent days saw four rough sleepers diagnosed with pneumonia or hypothermia and referred to hospital from the shelter on Friday night alone. Mr Glackin highlighted that they “could have died” if they had remained on the streets.
When approached for comment, the Greater London Authority (GLA) repeated its initial statement, adding that the Mayor spends around £9m a year on services tackling rough sleeping, and has secured an additional £4.2m from Government.
A spokesperson for Westminster Council meanwhile said: “This is a matter for the property owner. We are aware of the situation and have been offering to support to those with a genuine housing need. Our teams are on standby to provide additional help if an eviction takes place.
“The council offers over 400 bed spaces every night through local partners - more spaces are made available in winter weather.”