EIGHT out of ten business in Glasgow City centre said their business is affected by begging but most never report problems.

A survey by Community Safety Glasgow found that a quarter of firms said customers complain every week.

The council surveyed 161 businesses in the city centre to gauge the level of concern about street begging. Most were in the retail, and hospitality sectors.

It found 36% said they were affected significantly by begging and 44% affected a little.

However when it came to making a complaint three quarters said they either never or rarely complained about it.

Most said they were affected by people sitting outside their premises and one in four said their customers were being approached by beggars asking for cash.

In the report Eileen Marshall, Director of CSG, said: "Giving money to beggars may make life on the street easier for them in the short term, but in the worst case, could feed a dependency.

“People who beg are among the most vulnerable in society, often trapped in poverty and deprivation, and it is regarded as a risky and demeaning activity.”

Yesterday the Evening Times reported how the council’s community safety teams recorded hundreds of cases of begging in the city centre, mostly on the main retail streets.

The council report found their City Centre Response Team engaged with 800 incidents in the last year.

As part of the study into street begging business were asked their views.
Three quarters of the firms said it was a daily occurrence having someone beg outside their premises.

The most common locations were Gordon Street and Union Street, Royal Exchange Square and the main shopping precincts of Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street.

As well as the day time when the streets are busy with shoppers and workers there was also activity in the evening, mostly around night time economy venues of pubs and clubs, theatres and cinemas.

When businesses were asked what could be done to address begging one in three said there is a need for legislation to make it illegal and one in four said accommodation, welfare and support should be provided.

Half of those asked in the survey said they rarely or had never experiences aggressive begging in the last six months while 17% said they experienced it on a daily basis.

Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said: “We don’t have answers to how the situation come to fruition but we are supportive of finding solutions.

“We would certainly welcome a fresh coordinated response to it. It can’t be good for the people who are doing it and it certainly isn’t good for the businesses that are stuck in the middle.”

A spokeswoman for Glasgow City Council said: “We are working with partners to research the many complex causes of begging in the city centre.”