![]() It’s a view shared across the political spectrum and in the homelessness sector. “It fails to address the acute 21st-century problems that public sector agencies and charities work tirelessly to deal with among the street population,” she said. Punishments under the act can include a £1,000 fine and the possibility of a criminal record – neither of which do anything to help the person out of homelessness.Ĭonservative MP for the Cities of London and Westminster Nickie Aiken said the act is “simply no longer fit for purpose” ahead of a Westminster Hall debate on the act in April 2021. It is largely recognised that locking up homeless people does little to solve the root causes of why they are on the street in the first place. The Vagrancy Act does not deal with homelessness in a compassionate fashion, say its opponents. Why were there calls for the Vagrancy Act to be scrapped? The act also represented a threat to Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities. Namely transient people, typically from Scotland or Ireland, who were considered undesirable. The Vagrancy Act also aimed to punish “every person wandering abroad and lodging in any barn or outhouse, or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart or waggon”. This essentially means ex-soldiers were begging and the act was brought in to stop it. or procure charitable contributions of any nature or kind, under any false or fraudulent pretence” according to the act. Their crime after serving their country? “Endeavouring by the exposure of wounds or deformities to obtain or gather alms. The Vagrancy Act was initially intended to deal with injured ex-serviceman who had become homeless after the Napoleonic Wars. The law was passed in the summer of 1824 – 197 years ago – and was originally intended to deal with a situation far from the reality of street homelessness in present-day UK. The Vagrancy Act makes it a criminal offence to beg or be homeless on the street in England and Wales. Ministers could yet bring replacement powers into law through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.īut what is the Vagrancy Act and why is now the right time to scrap it? Let The Big Issue explain. The government has held a consultation on what should replace the act – despite the widespread belief that nothing is required to fill the void left by the law’s repeal. Priti Patel’s bill became the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act when it came into force on June 28, repealing the act for good. ![]() ![]() Rough sleeping minister Eddie Hughes MP said: “The Vagrancy Act is outdated and needs replacing, and so I’m delighted to announce today the government will repeal it in full.” Ministers made good on their promise in April 2022 when the Vagrancy Act was repealed as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. Since early 2021, the Westminster government has pledged to scrap the act. The controversial law, which has already been repealed in Scotland, makes rough sleeping and begging a criminal offence in England and Wales. ![]() The 200-year-old Vagrancy Act that criminalises rough sleeping is no more
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