Rough sleeping to be decriminalised as 200-year-old law scrapped in ‘landmark moment’
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UK to repeal ‘archaic’ 200-year-old rough sleeping law
- The government will repeal the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act by the spring of next year, which criminalised rough sleeping.
- Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner stated that Labour is ending “nearly two centuries of injustice” towards vulnerable people.
- Homeless charities have long advocated for the repeal of the “archaic” law, arguing that criminalising the homeless is not the solution and that support is needed instead.
- New measures will be introduced through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the necessary powers, including offences for facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with intent to commit a crime.
- Homelessness charities such as Crisis and St Mungo’s have praised the repeal, while Centrepoint cautioned against unintended consequences from the proposed amendments.