I WANT to respond to the story about my comments on begging and some recent letters (The Press, July 20).

I am committed to supporting efforts to tackle the root cause of homelessness and working proactively to support homeless people in York.

My comments were in relation to a specific concern about aggressive begging. A concern that I know is shared by many residents as well as the police, the council, and local businesses.

This begging happens in the city centre – particularly on Friday and Saturday nights – and often involves people who are not actually homeless.

I have raised the issue before with the police and was briefed by officers last year. The staged approach they’ve adopted involves engaging with the beggars to try to establish their situation and, as necessary, signposting people to the appropriate help and support.

This is the approach I want to see working. However, I recognise the difficult job the police have and the problem in accurately defining aggressive begging.

I have asked council officers for the figures on how the existing approach is working and to see if homeless people are being offered the support they need.

In response to Richard Bridge’s letter (July 25), this is not about scoring political points but about finding an approach that works for all our residents in York.

Cllr Ashley Mason, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe (Lib Dem), Fetter Lane, York