Council will lead and make improvements for rough sleepers – Deputy Leader Cllr Adam Harrison
The Council’s Acting Leader and Deputy Leader have emphasised their commitment to supporting some of the most vulnerable people in Camden.
An investigation into what happened on Friday at University College Hospital following the enforcement of a dispersal order applied for by UCH and enforced by police, which involved tents being disposed of, is underway but some early findings have been revealed.
It's important to acknowledge what happened on Friday was unacceptable. We are sorry about this and our Acting Leader of the Council has ordered an investigation into what happened, which is ongoing and will report as soon as possible.
Here in Camden we want to put people at the heart of everything we do, but it is clear that something has gone wrong here.
We can now share that initial investigations, since the operation, have shown that there was operational involvement from Camden - what happened was unacceptable and doesn't reflect the values we hold as a Council. We will make sure this is clear and understood at every level of the organisation. Whilst this dispersal order was applied for by University College Hospital London and enforced by the police, we acknowledge that waste collection services were arranged through the Council and our rough sleeping support services were engaged to support people affected.
We are determined to make improvements to how rough sleepers are supported in the borough.
Our outreach teams are available to provide support to anyone rough sleeping tonight. If you are worried about someone sleeping rough in Camden, please let us know by using the Camden Streetsafe app, emailing Streetsafe@cgl.org.uk, or calling 0808 800 0005.