Public Interest Law Centre, Migrants’ Rights Network, Liberty and twelve other organisations have today written a joint letter to London local authorities about the Home Office’s Rough Sleeping Support Service (RSSS).

The letter, which can be read online here, calls on local councils not to participate in the Rough Sleeping Support Service until serious concerns about how the scheme operates have been addressed. The signatories are asking councils not to participate in any scheme that involves council employees or commissioned services (including charity workers) passing on personal information about rough sleepers to the Home Office without their fully informed consent at every stage.

The letter also calls on local authorities to cancel service-provision contracts with voluntary-sector organisations that have a track record of passing on personal information about rough sleepers to the Home Office without their fully informed consent. Finally, the signatories ask local councils to make a detailed commitment to funding independent, specialised accommodation, advice and support services for migrant and refugee rough sleepers in their area.

For reference, the letter from the GLA referred to in our open letter can be found here.