Labour Leader and Shadow Housing Minister
have announced that the next
Labour government will repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824 which
criminalises begging and rough sleeping.
They will say that the priority should be to support, not
criminalise, those who are sleeping rough or begging.
The Georgian-era legislation is unnecessary for dealing with
genuine anti-social behaviour as a number of other civil measures
exist in modern legislation, including civil injunctions and
criminal behaviour orders.
The Vagrancy Act was used to bring a criminal charge nearly 3,000
times in 2016 with offences under the act commanding a fine of up
to £1,000 and leaving those convicted under it with a two year
criminal record.
Labour has committed to ending rough sleeping within five years
of forming the next Labour Government, with a plan to reserve
8,000 homes for those with a history of rough sleeping.
Earlier this week, the Shadow Housing Secretary, announced plans
for a £100m fund to make emergency cold weather accommodation
available for every rough sleeper during winter.
MP, Leader of the , said:
“It should shame us all that rough sleeping has doubled in the
last eight years and nearly 600 people died while homeless last
year.
“Homeless people need help, not punishment.
“The next Labour government will make ending homelessness a
priority. We want to build a society which doesn’t walk by on the
other side when we see someone in need.”
MP, Labour’s Shadow Housing
Minister, said:
“It beggars belief that we still use Georgian-era laws to
criminalise some of the most vulnerable in society.
“Treating rough sleepers as criminals does not solve the
underlying causes of homelessness and makes it harder for them to
access support to move away from the streets.
“Rather than criminalising rough sleepers Labour would support
them, with 8,000 new homes available to those with a history of
rough sleeping as part of a plan to eradicate rough sleeping
within five years.”
Ends
Notes to editors
- The homelessness charity, Crisis say the Vagrancy Act “gives
the police in England and Wales the power to issue a formal
arrest if someone has been offered shelter and continues to sleep
on the street. It not only targets behaviour potentially linked
to rough sleeping, but the very act of rough sleeping itself.”
https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/239633/everybody_in_how_to_end_homelessness_in_great_britain_2018.pdf
- While data on prosecutions under the Vagrancy Act is not
routinely published, the number of offences charged and reaching
a first hearing at Magistrates’ court were revealed in response
to a freedom of information request:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/being_an_incorrigible_rogue
- A briefing note from the independent House of Commons Library
research service details the numerous other options open to the
policy and councils when there are genuine cases of anti-social
behaviour:
https://researchbriefings.parliament.uk/ResearchBriefing/Summary/CBP-7836
- Evidence from Crisis suggests that enforcement measures are
not an effective way to either engage rough sleepers, or to
resolve their problems and that genuine offers of accommodation
and support, can act as a catalyst for helping rough sleepers
move away from the streets.
https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/services-and-interventions/ending-rough-sleeping-what-works-an-international-evidence-review/
