Remember the Vagrancy Act? It’s that antiquated law that makes it a crime to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. Yep, that’s right… it’s still around.

Shockingly, despite being repealed by UK Parliament in 2022, the Act is still in force – 1,000 days later. This means that people sleeping rough can still be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000. That’s unjustifiable in 21st-century Britain.

Sleeping rough is the most dangerous form of homelessness. It leaves people exposed to violence and serious health risks and can lead to premature death. Criminalisation does nothing to solve homelessness; it only pushes people further away from the help and safety they need.

But you thought we’d won the long fight to have it repealed after 200 years, right?

Well, kind of… So, what’s holding things up?

A victory still on hold

Our campaigning, alongside other charities, local authorities and politicians from all parties, led the Westminster Parliament to vote to repeal the Act in 2022 in a historic rejection of the criminalisation of homelessness. There has been clear support for its repeal in Wales' Senedd and from the Welsh Government.

The repeal was included in the 2022 Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act. However, the UK Government at the time insisted that it could not be fully implemented until replacement powers were in place. They added their own amendment to say repeal would commence after 18 months, buying them time to work on alternative measures.

Both houses of Parliament voted in support of repeal, meaning that repeal of the Vagrancy Act is enshrined in law. However, this part of the Act wasn’t actually brought into force, and it is still missing a date from which the repeal is effective.

The previous UK government tried to replicate the worst elements of the Vagrancy Act with their cruel and punitive Criminal Justice Bill. Once again, working with other charities and with MPs and Peers of all political parties, we defeated this attempt. The measures weren’t passed before the July 2024 general election and the Bill was dropped. But the Vagrancy Act remained in place.

What about this Government?

The governemnt has made some promising first steps on ending homelessness. They’ve boosted funding for homelessness services and for delivery of social homes. Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions are to be banned. And work on their promised cross-Government strategy, to tackle the root causes of homelessness, is underway.

However, the number of people forced to sleep rough is still going up in England – putting more people at risk of criminalisation under the Vagrancy Act.

In Parliament, MPs and peers are urging the government to act without delay.

In response to a question by long-term campaigner Layla Moran MP regarding repeal of the Vagrancy Act, the Minister for Homelessness and Democracy said the UK government’s strategy will include ‘consideration of relevant legislation.’

Co-Chairs of the APPG for Ending Homelessness Bob Blackman MP and Paula Barker MP have raised questions, as has Baroness Kennedy in the Lords.

She asked when the government would commence repeal. She had the support of fellow members of the House of Lords, who co-signed a letter urging the Government to finally put an end to the criminalisation of homelessness.

Ministers confirmed in Parliament that the Government views the Vagrancy Act as antiquated, cruel and no longer fit for purpose. Progress!

This week, parliamentarians have challenged the UK Government to finally scrap the Act, in the media and Parliament. @PaulaBarkerMP @HelenaKennedyKC 5/7 pic.twitter.com/7OtPOhrwWq

— Crisis (@crisis_uk) January 21, 2025

Replacement powers for the Vagrancy Act are not needed

The evidence is clear: criminalisation does not work. Instead, it undermines the efforts of frontline services to support people out of homelessness.

Powers already exist for police to deal with genuine instances of anti-social behaviour. What’s needed is an update to the guidance on these powers, developed with people with lived experience of homelessness, that would give police clarity over the enforcement tools they have available, and include appropriate safeguards for homelessness and rough sleeping.

The UK Government must repeal the Act, now.

Almost 5,000 people were forced to sleep on the streets of London between July and September last year. And thousands more face the indignity of homelessness across England and Wales.

The dangers are even more stark during winter, so it is welcome that the Government has tripled funding available for Rough Sleeping Winter Pressures, helping local authorities to provide accommodation.

But meanwhile, with the Vagrancy Act still on the statute books, people facing the trauma of sleeping on our streets can still be criminalised.

Repealing the Act is more than a symbolic gesture. It would finally close this chapter in the story of how we deal with homelessness in Britain.

The UK Government must act now and finally consign this harmful law to the history books, where it belongs.