200-year-old Vagrancy Act will be repealed
The government has pledged to scrap the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act by next spring.
The law, which was introduced in 1824 to deal with soldiers returning to the UK from the Napoleonic wars, makes rough sleeping a criminal offence.
The government will legislate to ensure it is still an offence to organise others to beg, such as driving people to places specifically for them to ask people for money. It will also ensure it is an offence to trespass with the intention of committing a crime. Both of these offences were covered in the 1824 Act.
Repealing the Vagrancy Act was first announced by the Conservative government in 2022, however no date was set for doing so.
Arrests and prosecutions under the act have been falling steadily in recent years. According to Ministry of Justice data there were 2,760 prosecutions under the act in 2010 but this had dropped to 384 in 2023.
Angela Rayner, deputy prime minister and housing secretary, said: “We are drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society, who deserve dignity and support.
“No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by scrapping this cruel and outdated law, we are making sure that can never happen again.”
The Home Office will update statutory guidance to police forces to detail how they can use powers in the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 instead to tackle ASB in the context of rough sleeping and begging.
The move was welcomed by housing organisations and homelessness charities.
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety.
“For 200 years the Vagrancy Act has meant that people who are homeless are treated as criminals and second class citizens.
“It has punished people for trying to stay safe and done nothing to address why people become homeless in the first place.
Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s said: “The repeal of the Vagrancy Act, which criminalises rough sleeping, cannot come soon enough.
“Right now, we are supporting thousands of people who are rough sleeping; everyone facing this issue has their own heartbreaking story to tell of how they ended up on the streets - from complex mental and physical health issues to an increasingly unaffordable housing market.
“The answer is not to criminalise people for living on the streets but instead to focus on tackling the health, housing and wider societal issues that are causing homelessness in the first place.”
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