Poole Labour Party has criticised BCP Council for dragging its feet over a discredited policy towards rough sleepers, which it has effectively been forced to scrap ahead of a High Court legal challenge due to take place later this month.
The charge comes before the cabinet meets next week (18 March), when councillors are likely to be advised to remove clauses from the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) currently operating in the Town Centre and Holes Bay Area which potentially criminalise people for being homeless or poor. Campaigners are also concerned that the council does not have a coherent policy to protect those who may be homeless or living in temporary or inappropriate housing during this period when we are facing a public health emergency. These people are some of the most vulnerable in society and at enormous risk, both from contracting Covid-19 and succumbing to its impact.
Poole Labour Party has campaigned against these clauses since their introduction in 2017, when they were introduced by the then Conservative led Poole Council. It had been hoped that under the newly formed Unity Alliance, BCP Council would have moved quickly to remove the potentially illegal orders, but sadly it has taken the threat of legal action to force the council into doing the right thing.
Poole Labour Chair, Sarah Ward, who is taking the legal action against the council as a private resident, and is represented by Liberty (the Human Rights’ charity), commented: “The threat of fines for people when they are living on the street and at their most vulnerable is both immoral and illogical. I have spoken to many homeless men and women over the past few years, who have, as a result of these threats, changed their decisions about where they bed down for the night; leaving them in much more dangerous and risky situations. I would urge the cabinet to remove these clauses immediately, and put in place alternative humanitarian emergency responses to what is clearly a housing and public health crisis across the BCP area. Frankly, how can you self-isolate if you don’t have a roof over your head? We need homes not fines for those on the streets.”
To report this post you need to login first.
