Homeless supporter hits out at count

Murphy James, 34, Windsor Homeless Project (WHP) manager, criticised the structure of the annual survey that councils have to prepare for central government so that they can gauge the level of help and financial assistance needed to tackle the problem in each part of the country.

The count in Windsor and neighbouring Slough was carried out by councils and town managers overnight on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, with some volunteers not finishing the survey until the early hours of the morning.

WHP was not at the beriefing in Maidenhead and did not take part in the count.

However, Mr James, said: "I was aware of the count this year and was aware of it last year, but I didn't take part.

"If you want a true reflection of the number of people who are sleeping rough, you need to carry out the count in the summer when conditions allow people to be more comfortable outside.

"In the height of winter people are not going to be out in the open streets they will try and are going to be curled up in somewhere they can be warm.

"The Government wants a snapshot of the homeless issue, but this count at this time of year does not give a true representation of the problem."

The Observer understands that although the figures were not available at the time of going to press, around seven people were counted sleeping on the streets in Windsor.

The 'strategy' to deal with the town centre's rough sleepers was announced at the Windsor Town Forum last month. The problem was called ‘multi faceted and very complex’ after the area saw an 'explosion' of people begging on the streets – the strategy is set to be unveiled this month.

The forum was told the town’s central High Street and Thames Street have seen the problem escalating out of control for some time.

Cllr Jack Rankin (Conservative: Castle Without), chairing the meeting, said: Our society is wealthy.

“No one should have have to sleep on the street.

“It is evident to anyone who knows the Town Centre that there are more homeless on the street.

“It is difficult to understand why.”

At the meeting Royal Borough officer Craig Miller – head of community and enforcement – described the problem as ‘multi faceted and very complex’.

He said the authority had been working with Thames Valley Police, charities and support teams that cope with drug and alcohol problems to come up with the strategy to tackle the issue.

Part of it would involve profiling individual street people to pinpoint why they were in that situation.

However, The Observer understands that some areas of last week's annual count were not being used, such as Royal Windsor Shopping, Windsor Yards and the coach park, because security was largely prominent.

Mr James said: "The big issue is professional beggars,, they come in from the wider areas and can make a lot of money and you can't blame them for that, they have to do anything to survive.

"But let's not get to the point where the vulnerable, for whatever reason, are vilified and villainised.

"We don't want anything to deter from the work with the homeless community."

he added:"The government directive and this count do not deal with the homeless."

Cllr Phill Bicknell is deputy leader of the Royal Borough and cabinet member for Windsor.

He said he believed the survey had identified seven people who appeared to be homeless during the investigation on Wednesday.

He acknowledged that people from outside the borough were coming in during the day to beg.

He said: "We need a strategy, there has to be joined up thinking.

"There is a multitude of issues and people have individual problems that need bespoke solutions.

"I listen to people who say 'just get them out. we want Windsor back' but that would be a bit draconian.

"The situation is not going to go away just like that.

"I wish I had a magic wand, it is a very sensitive issue."

He said as many skilled people as possible should be involved in dealing with the problem and said he would like to see Mr James to be involved.