|TOP|Westminster City Council is looking to end soup runs for homeless people in London that are operated by faith groups.

It is instead advising the around 50 soup runs to re-channel their efforts into initiatives that will offer a more long-term solution to the problem of homelessness in the city, reports Catholic newspaper The Universal.

A spokesman for Westminster City Council said that the council had written to all the faith groups operating soup runs in the city with five alternative ways to help rough sleepers.

“The letter is part of a campaign to discourage the 50-odd soup runs, harnessing their enthusiasm but channelling it into something that will help take the homeless off the streets," said the spokesman.

|QUOTE|He added: "The large numbers of soup runs, many of which congregate outside either Westminster Cathedral or on the Strand, fail to offer long term solutions for those who use them.

“The council stresses that people cannot come off the street until underlying causes such as drugs, alcohol and mental health problems are addressed."

One of the programmes being advised by the council is The Passage, which is run by nuns attached to Westminster Cathedral and serves single homeless people over 25 through the provision of day-care facilities, food, medical and laundry services.

|AD|The Passage Chief Executive Sr Ellen Flynn, commenting on the council’s action said that it could provide the facility with a welcome boost.

"We need as many volunteers as we can get. The Passage provides a large service and we are completely dependent on volunteers and always need more of them," she said.

"Our position on soup runs is that they are not always helpful and there are just too many of them," added Sr Ellen.

"But if they were to stop there would have to be research into who is filling any needs gap that may be left.

"The sorts of people using soup runs are various, and it is hard to evaluate just who is using them and whether they are homeless. Some people just cue up for free food. At The Passage we don’t give free food except in the mornings, we prefer people to contribute to their food as part of their recovery process."