A Home Office spokesman confirmed that Bristol, Brighton and Leeds would be set a March 2005 target for cutting begging 60%, with Camden and Westminster in London likely to be set the same goal.
Bristol will get £300,000 over three years for the project. The other councils will get similar sums, to be confirmed shortly.
Much of Bristol's funding will go to its Streetwise team of four police and housing officers, set up seven months ago. It makes contact with beggars, getting them into supported housing and drug treatment. It can also issue antisocial behaviour orders if people are caught begging repeatedly.
Many of the other trailblazers had similar initiatives in place before the announcement.
Research from the council found 285 beggars in Bristol in August 2002, nine out of 10 of them hooked on hard drugs. The team has made contact with 200 of them.
Wendy Murphy, head of strategic housing with the council, said of the funding: "It's not a huge sum but very welcome."
The council has started an advertising campaign encouraging people to give to charity rather than beggars, and has banned street drinking in the St Judes area.
The key points of the strategy
- The 276 crime and disorder reduction partnerships across England and Wales will receive £22m over the next two years
- Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Sunderland will be “trailblazers” to tackle nuisance neighbours
- Brighton, Bristol, Leeds, Camden and Westminster will be “trailblazers” to reduce begging by 60%
- A 10-strong team of antisocial behaviour prosecutors to be established around the country by the Crown Prosecution Service
- 10 estates – yet to be identified – will be subjected to a “100-day clean up” in terms of graffiti and rubbish
- Nuisance neighbours panels will be set up in the eight trailblazer areas
- A telephone hotline to provide support for housing officers dealing with bad behaviour
- Work to clear away abandoned cars, install gates and remove graffiti.
Source
Housing Today
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