The Vagrancy Act, was introduced in 1824 for punishment of “idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds, in England”, is to be repealed by spring next year, the Government has confirmed.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, said Labour is “drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society”.
Jan Sheldon, St Martins CEO said, “The scrapping of a 200-year-old law criminalising rough sleeping is indeed a landmark moment and quite frankly should have been scrapped at least 100 years ago. Rough sleeping is not a crime but an act of desperation. People who sleep rough have no other option. Rough sleeping is dangerous, degrading and a personal tragedy for every person taking to the streets.”
The average life expectancy of a man on the streets is 47, it’s 43 for a women. The health of someone sleeping rough suffers enormously.
People sleeping rough have enough challenges without their situation being criminalised.
Jan said, “I sincerely hope that the government will be putting more funds into prevention services. Prevention is critical and could make the difference between life and death for some people.
At St Martins we believe that no one should be sleeping rough in 2025 – let’s hope history sees the recentcommitment to scrap the vagrancy act as a turning point in our battle to end rough sleeping.”