Government scraps 200-year-old law as rough sleeping no longer a crime
Rough sleeping will be decriminalized next week as the government finally scraps a 200-year-old law long criticized as outdated. The Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed that the Vagrancy Act, which was first introduced in 1824 to punish “idle and idle persons and rogues and vagabonds”, will be officially repealed on Monday.
Ministers have previously signaled their intention to repeal the law by spring of this year. New powers under the Workers Crime and Policing Act, now passed in April, will make it easier to repeal this law. These new provisions, which include crimes such as facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with intent to commit a crime, are designed to fill the legal “gap” left by the repeal of the old law, according to officials.
Housing Minister Steve Reed welcomed the move, saying it would help shift the approach to homelessness “from punishment to prevention”. Plans to repeal the Vagrancy Act were first announced by the Conservative government in 2022, but the government insisted alternative measures must be introduced first.
Formal repeal will occur through secondary legislation on Monday; It’s a moment widely celebrated by charities and campaigners as a “turning point” in the fight against homelessness.
Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, said the change was “a significant shift towards a more humane approach that focuses on support, addresses root causes and helps prevent homelessness”.
Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said the 1824 Act “punished people forced to sleep on the streets” and “pushed already vulnerable people into the shadows, away from support services for fear of punishment”.
“This is a milestone that marks the end of the extremely cruel policy of criminalizing people for being homeless,” he said.
Housing Justice Chief Executive Bonnie Williams said the repeal of the Act should be part of a wider shift in the approach to helping people off the streets that “emphasises compassion, not condemnation, and recognizes that homelessness is not truly over until a person has not just housing but the relationships, community and belonging they need to thrive.”
Housing Minister Mr Reed said: “Homeless people are not criminals, they are people who need help.
“By repealing the outdated Vagrancy Act, we are moving from punishment to prevention, alongside our investment in tackling homelessness once and for all.”
