Bishop John criticises soup run bans

By-laws proposed by Westminster council which could ban the distribution of soup to homeless people were "anti-humanitarian", by Bishop John, speaking in the House of Lords this month.

At question time on 28 March 2011, the bishop asked whether local authorities could "really stop organisations from distributing food to those in need on the streets".

He called on the government to ensure that "charitable work that has been conducted by organisations like St George's Crypt in Leeds for generations is not destroyed or damaged by anti-humanitarian by-laws".

Westminster's Tory-led local authority argues that handouts from the area around Westminster Cathedral are "wrong and undignified" and encourage rough sleeping.

Commons leader Sir George Young said last week that the council would now be taking a "non-legislative" approach to the problem.

Local Government Minister Baroness Hanham told peers: "The fact of the matter is that was a very specific initiative that Westminster is looking at and will involve just a very small area."

She added that the government has "no intention of stopping soup runs elsewhere in the country".

"They are a very valuable assistance to people who are rough sleeping, although we have to be careful they don't provide a magnet for others who are not rough sleeping."