Statement in response to Government's changes to immigration rules

Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council said:

“Camden has always been there to help people, especially those in need or in distress.

“These new immigration rules, making rough sleeping a legal ground to cancel or refuse permission to stay in the UK, represent the exact opposite of everything we stand for here in Camden and we will not collaborate with these measures.

“In Camden we only work with the Home Office where someone has asked us to support them, for example to obtain settled status papers that they have lost.

“The outcome of these rules will surely be that some of the most vulnerable people in society may not seek the help available to them, putting them more at risk of exploitation in its many different forms.

“Homelessness, however it manifests itself, should never be viewed as a crime and we continue to strive to ensure that we provide safe accommodation and work to support all homeless in the borough to permanently move off the streets.”