Thursday, June 12, 2025
Welcome end to homelessness injustice
They say that deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has announced she will abolish the Vagrancy Act, which makes rough sleeping illegal in England and Wales:
The 1824 legislation has long been criticised by homelessness charities, and the move has been branded a " landmark moment that will change lives".
It will be included as an amendment to the flagship Crime and Policing Bill - with new laws instead targeting organised begging by gangs and trespassing. The Act will be scrapped by next spring, ministers say. Ms Rayner said: “We are drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society, who deserve dignity and support.
“For 200 years the Vagrancy Act has meant that people who are homeless are treated as criminals and second class citizens. It has punished people for trying to stay safe and done nothing to address why people become homeless in the first place.
“Ending the use of the Vagrancy Act recognises a shameful history of persecuting people for poverty and destitution, something that figures like William Wilberforce and Winston Churchill warned against in their opposition to the Act.
“It is of great credit to the UK Government that they have shown such principled leadership in scrapping this pernicious Act."
And St Mungo’s CEO Emma Haddad said:"The repeal of the Vagrancy Act, which criminalises rough sleeping, cannot come soon enough.
"Right now, we are supporting thousands of people who are rough sleeping; everyone facing this issue has their own heartbreaking story to tell of how they ended up on the streets - from complex mental and physical health issues to an increasingly unaffordable housing market."
This is a matter that Liberal Democrats MP, Layla Moran has been campaigning on for some time, as have many homeless charities, so it is very welcome. As she said five years ago:
“Even one person sleeping rough in this country in 2020 is a disgrace. We need to be taking a more compassionate approach to tackling this crisis. The Vagrancy Act, a Dickensian law from 1824 that criminalises rough sleeping, represents the first hurdle on that journey."
It's abolition is long overdue.
