Following today's announcements from the Housing, Communities and
Local Government Secretary and Dame Louise Casey relating to
support for rough sleepers,
Liberal Democrat MP said:
"After years of prevarication it took a crisis to get the Tories
to house thousands who were sleeping rough at the start of the
COVID-19 pandemic. It's vital that this support continues in the
months ahead, to ensure we don't go backwards when such progress
has been made.
"Ministers must now show they are completely committed to
tackling this issue head on.
"That is why the Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to
commit to scrapping the Dickensian Vagrancy Act - which unfairly
criminalises people for rough sleeping - as a matter of urgency.
Otherwise the law remains wholly incompatible with the plans
outlined to support rough sleepers in the long term."
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter,
said:
"The government has shown that it is prepared to
tackle homelessness head on, and today's announcement of stable
supported homes for the thousands of people who are otherwise
forced to sleep rough is welcome.
"But this crisis is showing the full extent of our housing
emergency, and now more than ever we are seeing why we so
desperately need many more safe, decent homes.
"If government truly wants to keep people off the streets and
avoid a spike in homelessness, it must give judges the power to
ensure no renter is made homeless when the eviction freeze ends
in June. And ultimately, we won't solve homelessness without
building the new generation of genuinely affordable social homes
that could solve this emergency for good."
