Clergy from the main churches in London’s West End wrote an open letter to local MPs Nickie Aiken and Sir Keir Starmer, to express concern at proposed changes to the Criminal Justice Bill which would criminalise many people sleeping on the streets of their parishes.
They said churches and local charities are at the forefront in efforts to support people sleeping rough and urged MPs to “reconsider the measures before the bill is next considered in Parliament”.
The Home Office said new powers were needed to “help move vulnerable individuals off the streets and direct them to the appropriate support they need, such as accommodation, mental health or substance misuse services.”
However, the clergy said the bill “contains nothing that would increase support for rough sleepers and contains no new additional funding for these services as far as we can see”.
The bill included a weak definition of “public nuisance” open to broad interpretation by the police and local authorities, they said. It proposed penalties for offences of a £2,500 fine or one month in prison, which they said was “in no way proportionate and risks criminalising and jailing some of the most vulnerable people in our parishes”.
Clergy have offered “to work with [MPs] to make sure that any new legislation supports rough sleepers and genuinely helps to tackle homelessness in this country”.
Catholic signatories included Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, parish priest of Farm Street Church, Mayfair, and chair of Justice & Peace in the Diocese of Westminster, Fr Pascal Boidin of Notre Dame de France in Leicester Square, and Fr Alan Robinson of Corpus Christi Maiden Lane, Covent Garden.
The Revd Richard Carter of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Revd Simon Woodman of Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church and the Revd Lucy Winkett of St James's Piccadilly were among the other signatories.
Fr Robinson commented: “An integrated response needs to see the homeless we serve in our parishes not as people to be punished for begging but to treat the poorest of our flock with care and respect for their human dignity….
“The proposed law will simply result in locking people away in prison where they can be conveniently forgotten by the rest of society. And that must be resisted strongly by the Christian community and by anyone who cares about creating a civilised society.”
