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Law criminalising rough sleeping to be repealed

A law that criminalises rough sleeping and begging in England and Wales has been repealed.

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Picture: Getty
Picture: Getty
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A law that criminalises rough sleeping and begging in England and Wales has been repealed #UKhousing

Last night the government tabled an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which will see the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act repealed.

The move has been welcomed by homelessness charities that have long campaigned for the act to be abolished. 

Passed in 1824, the law gives authorities the power to punish people “in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart or waggon, not having any visible means of subsistence”.

Studies have shown that the act has been used to move rough sleepers on from certain locations. 

Rough sleeping minister Eddie Hughes said he was “delighted” to announced the “outdated” act would be repealed.


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He said the government would build on this action by developing “a strategy setting out how we will end rough sleeping for good, support vulnerable people off the streets and continue to protect communities from crime and anti-social behaviour”.

It could take up to 18 to 24 months for the repeal to come into force as part of the passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. 

“For almost 200 years, the criminalisation of homelessness has shamed our society. But now, at long last, the Vagrancy Act’s days are numbered and not a moment too soon,” said Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis.

“This long-overdue reform will reframe the issue of homelessness away from it being a question of criminality, and towards our modern understanding of homelessness as a complex health, housing and social challenge,” he added.

Steve Douglas, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said he was “pleased” to see the act repealed. 

“We know from working with our clients that criminalising rough sleeping only drives people further from the support they need, and leads to stigmatisation, loss of trust, and therefore loss of engagement with support services,” he added.

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