Through amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill, new measures
will ensure rough sleepers are directed to the support available
to help get them off the streets - for example to a place to
sleep or addiction treatment.
New guidance will make clear that police and local authorities
must prioritise directing people who are sleeping rough to
support services before they consider using criminal sanctions.
This will include directing people where to go to access health
services or shelters.
If, despite being directed to support services and given a
warning, people continue to cause antisocial behaviour, such as
damage or harassment, they will be required to stop and asked to
move on with a rough sleeping notice.
Home Secretary said:
This government is committed to ending rough sleeping. To achieve
this, we must take a multi-faceted approach that supports
vulnerable people off the streets and ensures everyone can feel
safe in our neighbourhoods and communities.
We are scrapping the outdated Vagrancy Act and replacing it with
new measures that focus on supporting people, while ensuring the
police and local authorities are able to address behaviour that
makes the public feel unsafe.
This government listens, and we have worked hard to ensure these
proposals prioritise helping vulnerable individuals, whilst
ensuring communities are safer and better protected.
Policing Minister said:
Ending rough sleeping is a key priority for the government and is
why we have a plan to tackle the root causes of why
people end up on the streets, backed by an
unprecedented £2.4 billion.
Nobody should be criminalised for having nowhere to live, but as
we have always said, we will not accept behaviour that is
antisocial or intimidating to the public, such as rough sleeping
in a way that blocks a local business or fire escape.
I want to thank MP and MP for their dedication and
cooperation on this issue. We have listened carefully to the
proposals and have worked constructively to ensure they are
proportionate, properly targeted, and ensure vulnerable people
are directed towards support while protecting communities from
antisocial behaviour.
Alongside new measures in the Criminal Justice Bill, the Vagrancy
Act will also be scrapped, which wrongly criminalises people for
sleeping rough, while still criminalising behaviour that is
antisocial or intimidating.
Through the new bill, if an individual is causing antisocial
behaviour or intimating others, they could be served with a
notice that could require them to stop the behaviour or move on.
Ignoring such a notice, without a reasonable excuse, could be a
criminal offence and escalated to a court order containing
further requirements, such as attending drug treatment.
The government will also remove references to odours in the bill.
This will clarify that previous references to ‘smells', which had
been intended to tackle rubbish dumped or human waste, were never
intended to wrongly criminalise anyone for not being able to
wash.
This is part of the government's wider work to tackle
homelessness and end rough sleeping for good backed by a £2.4
billion investment over three years which includes tailored
support for vulnerable people. Since 2018, more than 740,000
households have been prevented from becoming homeless or
supported into settled accommodation.
The rough sleeping and nuisance begging provisions, together with
the repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824, will come into force 3
months after the Criminal Justice Bill receives royal assent,
allowing for local authorities and police to have appropriate
time to work with communities and charities to understand and
implement the new laws.
