§ Lord Pattenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 15 February (WA 142), whether rough sleeping is permitted (a) outside No. 10 Downing Street or (b) along Victoria Street, SW1. [HL1104]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Lord Whitty)Although it is not against the law to sleep rough, the Government think that it is wrong for anyone to have to sleep on the streets. We are currently putting in place a comprehensive package of measures to achieve our target of reducing rough sleeping by at least two-thirds by 2002. Efforts will be focused on those areas with the highest concentrations of rough sleepers, including Victoria Street, SW1.
Access to Downing Street is restricted for security reasons.