Suella curb on rough sleepers in tents to end ‘explosion of crime and squalor’
SUELLA BRAVERMAN has launched a crackdown on homeless people using tents on public streets.
The Home Secretary said she wants to put a stop to the ‘nuisance and distress’ caused by rough-sleeper tents, and plans to fine charities for giving them away to the homeless.
Ms Braverman said Britain ‘cannot allow our streets to be taken over by rows of tents’, which she said are often occupied by people from abroad who are ‘living on the streets as a lifestyle choice’.
The plans are to be outlined in the King’s Speech on Tuesday.
Announcing the changes on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Braverman said they were needed to prevent British cities from witnessing an ‘explosion of crime, drug taking, and squalor’ akin to what has happened in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
She said she wants to stop people who ‘cause nuisance and distress to other people by pitching tents in public spaces, aggressively begging, stealing, taking drugs, littering, and blighting our communities’.
Ms Braverman’s comments were met with criticism from charities and politicians. Homelessness charity Crisis said: ‘Sleeping on the streets is not a lifestyle choice... This is a consequence of poverty.’
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘Banning tents will not solve homelessness. The Tory Government’s attitude to vulnerable people sleeping on our streets lacks compassion and is deeply depressing.’
Meanwhile, a hunt has been launched within the Government for the mole who originally leaked the plans to the Financial Times. Insiders raised concerns of a plot to ‘undermine’ Ms Braverman’s crackdown on anti-social behaviour, with some accusing a rival Cabinet Minister.
The plans reportedly include creating a new civil offence to deter charities from giving tents to homeless people. Charities could be fined for handing out tents if they are deemed to have caused a nuisance.
The potential legislation is also expected to try to stop the obstruction of shop doorways by rough sleepers who are using tents.
Tory MP Nick Fletcher spoke in support of the plans. He said: ‘We will not allow our country to become a place where tents on the streets are acceptable.’
Last year the Government published its homelessness strategy, which restated its 2019 manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping by the end of the current Parliament. But the number of homeless people is rising – figures earlier this year showed the number of people estimated to be sleeping rough in England had risen for the first time since 2017.
The Home Office said it cannot comment on the upcoming King’s Speech.
‘Living on the streets as a lifestyle choice’