Councillor Sharon Thomson - North Edgbaston - Cabinet Member for Homes and Neighbourhoods, has warned against giving money to homeless people and has called for a change in public perception of street homelessness.

Highlighted as a major issue since the beginning of the Covid 19 crisis, she has commented that "a number of individuals not willing to engage with specialist services in the past were now making progress.

She added that public handouts could relate to "lack of engagement with appropriate services".

With little or no public presence in the City centre during lockdown some of Birmingham’s homeless people have had to accept help from organisations such as Shelter, St Basil’s and Crisis.