We'll turn page on 200 year shame - and it's just the start says Angela Rayner
I'll never forget the anger I felt when Suella Braverman claimed rough sleeping was 'a lifestyle choice.'
As if the danger and hardship of living on the streets was some kind of holiday option – when most rough sleepers have no choice at all. The fact she was Home Secretary when she said those words back 2023 made it even more shocking.
Just a year before, Parliament had voted to repeal the Vagrancy Act a shameful 200-year-old law that criminalises rough sleeping. But her Tory government failed to go through with scrapping it fully.
Three years on, this Labour government will finally finish the job by scrubbing the Vagrancy Act from the statute books once and for all. We are drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society – people who deserve dignity and support.
No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by ending this archaic law, we are making sure it can never happen again. Of course, this does not mean that the job is done.
It sends a clear message that rough sleeping is not a crime to be punished. But to get back on track to ending homelessness for good we must tackle its root causes.
Everyone deserves a safe, decent, affordable home. And yet this dream is out of reach for far too many people across our country.
We've inherited the worst housing crisis in living memory. Rough sleeping soaring, record numbers of families living in B&Bs. And to our nation's shame more than 165,000 children remain stuck in temporary accommodation.
My family didn't have much growing up. But we had a council house which gave me the security I needed to get on in life.
Thousands of kids don't have that luxury. This is what keeps me up at night and drives our mission to end this crisis.
Through our Plan for Change we will build 1.5m new homes - including the biggest wave of affordable and social housing in a generation. We've already topped up investment for this by £800 million.
And we're providing another £2 billion top-up for next year too with more funding to come in the Spending Review. And we won't stop there.
Through our landmark Renters' Rights Bill we are banning no fault evictions to give millions of people renting more security. At the same time, we're investing almost £1 billion - into tackling homelessness and rough sleeping - including a £233 million boost for this year.
And we're taking important steps to boost housing availability too. This includes reforming Right to Buy so councils can keep the money they make from sales.
They will then invest these funds back into building and buying more homes. On top of this we've made £450 million available for councils to provide housing for families at risk of homelessness.
But we know that funding is only part of the solution. That's why we're creating a long-term homelessness strategy with prevention at its heart.
Providing the long-term quality homes people deserve. Bringing homelessness to an end won't be easy. It will take time and commitment to achieve.
Scrapping the Vagrancy Act is an important step on this journey of reform. Just look how far Britain has come in the two centuries since the Act was first introduced.
Slavery was abolished, women won their fight to vote and equality was enshrined in law. The foundations of our welfare state was laid by the post war Labour government.
These groundbreaking reforms, and others, improved the lives of millions of ordinary people. They made Britain a freer, fairer more tolerant society.
And we are proud to be following in the footsteps of the reformers of the past today as we lay the foundations for a better future.
Building the homes we need and creating a country that delivers for everyone. So that a good home is no longer a 'lifestyle choice' for a lucky few - but the foundation of a good life for all.
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