Is begging against the law?

[Snadger]

If someone comes up to you and says "I'm homeless, can you give me some spare change"....................What do you do?

[Two_Sheds]

I don't like to feed a habit ... I give money to charities instead of individuals.
We had a homeless guy round the corner, so I used to make him a packed lunch same as mine. Until one day he disappeared... I hope it wasn't my hummous and mung bean sarnies ...

[The Reverend]

I have to say just by giving them some money would solve nothing, some advice would be of more use to them, but they won't be so thankful.

[SarzWix]

I'm with you TwoSheds, if I have the money spare - better to buy some food than risk it swelling the off-licence coffers (or worse!). I always get a Big Issue when I'm in town, it's a good magazine too!

[Polly Fouracre]

This may sound odd (much of what I say does)but I always look at their shoes.If they are wearing decent, expensive shoes they get nothing from me.
The reason for this is because I used to work with a young man who liked going to gigs all over the country and to "earn" his beer money he would pretend to be homeless and beg.
He was a skinny little thing and got away with it BUT he always wore good shoes.

[scared55]

That there are people in comparatively rich western countries who need to beg is, to my mmind, a severe indictment on the social credentials of the country.
As for the individuals concerned, I accept that there are people who, whether through their own fault or not, are let down by or fall through the relevant structures. For those people I feel sympathy, although I personally find aggressive begging unacceptable, and I think, in the UK, it is still illegal under the Vagrancy Act, although I may be a few decades out of date on that.
What I find most unacceptable is people, not necessarily indigenous, who use their children to beg. If that isn't unlawful, it certainly ought to be!

KK

[NOG]

There is no need to beg. you don't need an address to get Income Support each town will have an office where if you are NFA (No Fixed Abode) you can sign on. There is also no need to be homeless there are still lots of Hostles that will take you in for the night.