Salford charity boss slams ‘massively inhumane’ laws that could criminalise homeless people

The CEO of a Salford homelessness charity says new laws that could criminalise people on the streets is ‘massively inhumane’.

Jennifer-Anne Smith, of Salford Loaves and Fishes, says the charity currently has 140 people a day visiting its drop-in centre.

Ms Smith says the charity is dealing with more demand than ever” despite receiving no help from central government.

She was speaking in response to a tweet from Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett, who has urged Salfordians to write to MPs protesting the proposed law.

He wrote: “Write to our MPs: Vagrancy Act was repealed in 2022 but if new UK Gov. laws are passed, sleeping on streets could be criminalised with fines of up to £2,500. This totally wrong, especially when @ukhomeoffice & @SercoGroup are evicting people to streets.”

Write to our MPs: Vagrancy Act was repealed in 2022 but if new UK Gov. laws are passed, sleeping on streets could be criminalised with fines of up to £2,500. This totally wrong, especially when @ukhomeoffice & @SercoGroup are evicting people to streets👇🏻😡https://t.co/I5o4xI8zm1

— SalfordMayor (@salford_mayor) January 22, 2024

The Criminal Justice Bill, which was unveiled in the King’s Speech late last year, will finally replace the Vagrancy Act, which has criminalised rough sleeping and begging for almost 200 years.

However the government said the legislation will create a new offence to criminalise organised begging as well as new civil notices to prevent “nuisance begging and rough sleeping which causes damage, disruption, harassment or distress to the public”.

Compared to the rest of England, Greater Manchester had a large problem with homelessness – with more than four per 1,000 households on average seeking support from their council compared to three per 1,000 across the country.

Salford had five times more domestic abuse cases than other households in Greater Manchester on average.

There are two Loaves & Fishes centres in Salford; the Drop-In Centre and the Skills For Life Centre.

The Drop-In Centre is there to offer anyone support and offer users a warm and safe environment in which they can access facilities such as breakfast and lunch, laundry and showers. They also run activities from gardening to bingo and arts and crafts.

The Skills For Life Centre next door offers a wide range of classes and courses to help support people into employment or better jobs. Their sessions include various computer courses, digital sessions and employment support.

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