London's Islington Council has called on the government to give it greater powers to clamp down on street fundraisers in the borough, with the aim of eradicating them entirely.

Councillor Paul Convery, executive member for planning at the council, said that he is taking a number of steps to get face-to-face fundraisers off its streets and has already spoken with a number of councils in London to join forces against the much-maligned fundraising technique.

Reflecting on straw polls and discussions with members of the community, Convery said street fundraisers are considered a "nuisance" and that there are many more effective methods of fundraising.

“I sympathise with charities. It’s not easy right now, but this is a bad way to raise money, for three reasons: a) it’s annoying people and damaging the brand of the charity, b) they don’t make a big enough percentage of the money, it’s going to the agencies and c) it’s just not a good way to make money – there are other better ways," he told civilsociety.co.uk.

The council has asked a number of national charities directly not to fundraise on the borough's streets and is also in discussion with regulatory bodies such as the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) to "limit this activity".

Convery said that the council's reserve powers which allow it to take action against residents and shopkeepers, such as licensing and penalty powers, should also be extended to anybody working on the council's streets.  He has already been in discussions with the government on this matter.

Convery admits the campaign has not yet gone very far, and that he expects it will take some time, but said that his "preferred outcome is that we don’t have people canvassing on any issue on the streets of our borough". He will also approach every council in London to gather support, he said.

The councillor believes the impetus for face-to-face fundraising comes not from the charities themselves, but from the agencies employing the street fundraisers:

“I know many people from charities, some of the big charities, and I don’t feel that there is a huge drive from them for this. It’s this industry that is pushing charities into fundraising in this way, telling them it’s a pain-free, cost-effective way of making money, but in actual fact it’s just annoying people and damaging their reputation," he said.