Annual conference debate on enforcement

A lively debate that questioned whether enforcement was necessary to end rough sleeping, was a highlight at this year's annual conference.  You can listen to the debate here.

The debated was chaired by Mark McPherson, Director of Regions & Practice at Homeless Link, with the following people on the panel:  

• Alastair Murray, Acting Director at Housing Justice
• Janet Haddington, Head of Rough Sleeping at Westminster City Council
• Ross Watkins, Lambeth Street Outreach Response Team at Thames Reach.

The enforcement debate began prior to the annual conference, in a discussion forum on Homeless Link's Facebook fan page. The discussion is still live and you can add your own thoughts about enforcement at to our enforcement discussion on Facebook.

Listen to the debate:

1: How can we ensure that people aren’t pushed into hiding by enforcement?

Does enforcement result in services not being able to engage and support rough sleepers? Won’t enforcement also inevitably lead to yet more homeless people becoming involved in the criminal justice system?  

2: What do we mean by enforcement, where do we draw the line and what are the consequences? 

3: Is it acceptable to say that some people will always sleep rough?  

4: What is an acceptable enforcement activity? 

5: Questions from the audience.

Continued...

Continued...