‘Archaic’ law criminalising rough sleeping to be repealed in Northern Ireland

The Vagrancy Act 1824 makes rough sleeping a criminal offence. Homeless Connect, the charity, described Ms Long’s move as “progressive leadership”.

Ms Long confirmed the plans in response to a question from Nick Mathison, Alliance MLA, who asked the minister whether she planned to repeal Northern Ireland’s “archaic vagrancy laws” in this mandate.

Mr Mathison also asked whether the minister agreed that homelessness was not a criminal offence and that “policy interventions, rather than criminal sanctions, are required to address it”.

Ms Long said: “I absolutely agree. It had been my intention to do that in the previous mandate.

“However, the limitations of the then rescoped Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill and the subsequent engagement of the department’s policy and legislative resources in the delivery of that meant that it was not possible to do that.

“However, I hope that we will be able to do it on this occasion. I do not believe that being homeless, in and of itself, should be punished. The police should not be the lead agency in tackling it.

“There are many people who should engage with those who do not have shelter and accommodation before the issue finds its way to the police.”

Nicola McCrudden, chief executive of Homeless Connect, said the charity “warmly welcomes” the announcement.

“No one should be criminalised simply for experiencing homelessness. The time has come to repeal these provisions, which are not fit for purpose and contribute to the stigma which surrounds homelessness.

“We welcome the progressive leadership of the justice minister on this matter and hope all parties at the assembly will support this step.”

Ms McCrudden said she had written to the minister to request a meeting to discuss the repeal of these provisions and to request that the department considers engaging with people with lived experience of homelessness as they look to take this step.

“It is vital that these voices are heard in the legislative process on matters which impact on their lives,” she said.

Last month, a motion calling on the communities minister to ban no-fault evictions was backed by the assembly.