The UK government has confirmed that
it will repeal the Vagrancy Act, the 1824 law which
criminalises rough sleeping and begging in England and
Wales.
MPs had been set to vote on a Lords
amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
repealing the act but the government has now tabled its
own amendment to enact repeal.
It follows the Scrap the
Act campaign by UK national homelessness charity Crisis,
which has received support from Peers and MPs of all parties, as
well as Crisis supporters and people with experience of
homelessness.
Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:
“For almost two hundred
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.
“This offensive law does nothing to
tackle rough sleeping, only entrenching it further in our society
by driving people further from support. We know there are better,
more effective ways to help people overcome their
homelessness.
“We thank the UK government for using
the policing bill to finally consign this appalling act to
history, where it belongs. We look forward to working with them
to finish the job without delay and ensure the criminalisation of
destitution is over.
“We are immensely grateful for the
tireless work of Peers and MPs from across parties, as well as
every Crisis supporter who has got behind our Scrap the Act
campaign, who have all brought us to this historic
moment.”
Rt Hon MP, previous Secretary of
State for Housing, Communities and Local Government,
added: “The repeal of the
Vagrancy Act builds on the success of the Everyone In programme I
established during the pandemic and is another important
milestone on the road to ending rough sleeping.
"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.
"The Vagrancy Act is an archaic piece
of legislation which creates a wholly unnecessary obstacle that
homeless people must overcome in order to rebuild their lives. I
welcome the action that is now being taken to put repeal into law
and I urge the government to continue to work with charities,
including Crisis, on the detail of its
implementation.”
-ENDS-
Notes to
Editors
The amendment to repeal the
Vagrancy Act can be viewed here.
