Street begging on the rise in Calderdale towns

The assessment has been made in papers that will go before the Calderdale Council's People Scrutiny Board today.

Mike Lodge, the senior scrutiny support officer said in his report look specifically at street begging: "There is anecdotal evidence that the amount of street begging in Calderdale is increasing.

"Although there are clearly links between street begging and homelessness, they are not the same issue. People Scrutiny Board considered issues relating to homelessness and rough sleeping at its March meeting.

"Street begging differs from – for example – homelessness – in that addressing issues concerning street begging is not a direct Council responsibility."

He said members of the board may wish to question Council officers, the police and other agencies about any evidence about the number of people who are street begging and whether this is consistent with experience in other parts of the country.

Also the board may wish to discuss with officers and partner agencies the reasons why people need to beg and whether there are actions that are being taken or could be taken to reduce the incidence of street begging.