UK government scraps Vagrancy Act in England and Wales

The Vagrancy Act 1824 was initially designed to combat concerns over people wandering the country looking for work, and soldiers returning wounded from the Napoleonic wars.

While the Act’s use has fallen since 2014, it has still been implemented with different police forces using the Act to differing degrees. The formal application of the Act has led to continued prosecutions, but the informal use and threat of prosecution under the Act continues to send people further away from the support they need.

Charities and campaigners have long argued that this does nothing to address the causes of why people are forced to beg or sleep rough, and pushes them further away from support and often into danger.

The UK government has now announced it will be commencing repeal of the Act via the Crime and Policing Bill currently before Parliament.

Homelessness charity Crisis described the announcement as a “landmark moment that will change lives” and prevent thousands of people from being pushed away from safety and support.

Crisis has long campaigned for an end to this law. It has worked with organisations across the housing, homelessness and human rights sectors, and alongside police forces, lawyers and parliamentarians in parliaments in Westminster and Cardiff Bay.

Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said: “This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety.

“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. We hope this signals a completely different approach to helping people forced onto the streets and clears the way for a positive agenda that is about supporting people who desperately want to move on in life and fulfil their potential. We look forward to assisting the UK government with their forthcoming homelessness strategy to do exactly that.”