100 signatures reached
To: Leader of Gloucester City Council: Paul James
Scrap Public Space Protection Orders that target rough sleepers in Gloucester
We the undersigned ask that Gloucester City Council:
a) Scrap Public Space Protection Orders in Gloucester and instead, use the money being invested into this scheme to provide more over night shelters and accommodation for street homeless.
b) Fulfil your legal duty under the 2010 Equality Act to complete a proper (EIA) Equality Impact Assessment and present this to the public before the public consultation ends and if not presented before the PSPO's are introduced or in good time, then you must extend the public consultation period to give the public adequate time to respond.
Why is this important?
We were all disgusted when Gloucester City Council put up these posters in Gloucester suggesting people should not give to those sleeping rough on the streets and suggesting they have accommodation. The posters were clearly a 'prelude' to the introduction of Public Space Protection Orders in Gloucester (PSPO's).
In other parts of the country, these are being used to 'socially cleanse' cities and towns of rough sleepers so that they are essentially 'banned' from certain areas. Rough sleepers can also face fines if found in these areas. PSPO's give councils the power to remove people for non criminal behavior and the latest Home office advice (December 2017) states that PSPO's should not be used to target rough sleepers.
This is a cruel and ill thought out approach to solving homelessness in Gloucester . In Gloucester many vulnerable people have no accommodation and due to 'ideological' cuts to funding, they have little, if any support when they're on the streets. By introducing PSPO's, the council will only move the problem, but not solve it. What's more, the most obvious solution would be for Gloucester City Council to open more shelters and open buildings that they already own for the homeless as there is nowhere near enough accommodation available in Gloucester.
