Latest news with #roughsleeping
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Fears of rise in homeless tent cities as rough sleeping is decriminalised: Angela Rayner is set to abolish 200-year-old law despite soaring numbers living on streets
Rough sleeping is to be decriminalised by Spring next year under radical plans by Labour to stop people becoming homeless in the first place. The number of rough sleepers has risen dramatically since 2010, from 1,768 people thought to be sleeping rough on an average night in England to 4,667 last year. Around three in 10 of those sleeping out are in London, up from around 23 per cent in 2010 - evidenced by US-style 'tent cities' that have cropped up in high-profile locations such as Park Lane and University College Hospital London. To tackle the issue, the Government says it will repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act - a 200-year-old law first introduced to tackle mass rough sleeping following the Napoleonic Wars - and bring in £1billion of anti-homelessness initiatives. The move to repeat the Act was first announced in 2022 by the Conservatives, but was not brought to Parliament before Labour took power. Repealing the law will mean police will be unlikely to move on anyone rough sleeping unless they are behaving disruptively towards the public - and could see a rise in larger encampments. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said yesterday that the repeal of the Act would send 'a clear message that rough sleeping is not a crime to be punished'. The move has also been welcomed by homeless charities. Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, called it a 'landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety'. He added: '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. '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.' The Government criminalised rough sleeping and begging in the 1820s amid rising concerns over the rising number of people who were resorting to sleeping outside - often soldiers homeless after the Napoleonic Wars. Subsequently, the law has been held up as a 'measure... of repression' by a 1906 Departmental Committee and efforts have been made to curtail it over the years. Much of the law has been repealed - including sections that allowed anyone to apprehend a rough sleeper and take them to local judges, and punishing the offence by whipping. Long gone, too, is a section that deemed fortune-tellers and palm-readers 'rogues and vagabonds'. But what remains of the act punishes the offences of begging and of continuing to sleep out after refusing or failing to apply for accommodation. It has still been enforceable in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the powers have been used less frequently over time. In 2010, 2,760 prosecutions were brought under the Act in 2010, leading to 2,292 convictions. That fell to just 384 prosecutions and 298 convictions in 2023. However, homelessness charities have said the Act is still used 'informally' to move people on with the threat of arrest alone. But with the repealing of the Act, it will no longer be a crime to sleep rough or to beg. The repealing of the act goes hand in hand with a raft of measures announced by ministers last December to tackle the root causes of homelessness. A £1bn bumper package of initiatives includes £633million to help prevent homelessness, £185million for shelters to tackle rough sleeping and tens of millions for long-term accommodation and drug and alcohol programmes. Ms Rayner said: '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.' An individual who is, for example, harassing people, may still be prosecuted under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act in 2014. The 2014 Act has been used to issue dispersal orders in the past against so-called 'tent cities' - including, controversially, when a group of 10 tents was forcibly evacuated outside UCLH in November 2023. Tents were loaded into a bin lorry and crushed, with one man arrested after refusing to leave the area. Metropolitan Police chiefs later admitted the actions of police and council staff were 'unlawful'. The Government says it will also introduce new laws to tackle modern phenomena such as organised begging by gangs who send groups of people into town centres to ask for cash. It will also ban trespassing with the intention of committing a crime - an offence under the Vagrancy Act that will remain on the statute books. But the new Crime and Policing Bill will also increase the length of dispersal orders - used to break up homeless encampments - from 48 hours to 72 hours. It will also increase fines for public space protection orders - a type of anti-social behaviour order - from £100 to £500. The Home Office says these should not be used to tackle homelessness, but charities say their use continues regardless - particularly in Manchester, where the city council used a PSPO to tear down a tent encampment. Similar orders have also been introduced in Sheffield and Birmingham, effectively outlawing even non-verbal begging. Removing the act of vagrancy as a criminal offence will mean people who are sleeping rough without disturbing anyone or committing trespass on private property are not committing a crime. Whether it will lead to a rise in US-style 'tent cities' remains to be seen - but the issue has grown so great Stateside that the Supreme Court ruled that cities can ban people from sleeping out in public places last summer. The court, which voted 6-3 on the ruling, said it would not be unconstitutional to order homeless people not to sleep in public - but critics say it will not solve the deeper problems associated with homelessness. In February, MailOnline visited a tent encampment on land in London's Park Lane, directly opposite luxury hotels and supercar dealerships. Efforts have been made to move individuals on in the past, only for those living there - many of them migrants from eastern Europe and Africa unable to secure long-term housing - to set up nearby days later. One Sudanese resident, Hassan, said he had been in the UK for 20 years, but became homeless two years ago. The 44-year-old told our reporter: 'We come to this camp because nobody troubles us. The police never come. No one comes to tell us to go. 'The only people who come are from the charities to check that we are OK. We get help from different charities - places where you can get food and a shower. 'I would like a home to live in but this tent now is all I have.'
Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Rough sleeping to be decriminalised
Rough sleeping is to be decriminalised after the government pledged to get rid of a 200-year-old law against vagrancy. Labour said the Vagrancy Act, which became law in 1824 and criminalises 'idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds, in England', will be repealed by next spring. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, who is also housing secretary, said Labour was 'drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society'. She said: 'No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by scrapping this cruel and outdated law, we are making sure that can never happen again.' Rushanara Ali, the homelessness minister, said the 'archaic' law was 'neither just nor fit for purpose'. She added: 'Scrapping the Vagrancy Act for good is another step forward in our mission to tackle homelessness in all its forms, by focusing our efforts on its root causes.' The government said new 'targeted measures will ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe — filling the gap left over by removing previous powers'. These will be brought in through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill. There will be new offences of facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with the intention of committing a crime. Ministers said that means organised begging by criminal gangs will remain a crime. It will be illegal for anyone to organise others to beg. Homelessness charities hailed the law change. Matt Downie, the Crisis chief executive, said: 'This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety.' He praised the government for showing 'principled leadership in scrapping this pernicious act'. He said: 'We hope this signals a completely different approach to helping people forced on to 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.' Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo's, said the act's repeal 'cannot come soon enough' and called for a 'focus on tackling the health, housing and wider societal issues that are causing homelessness in the first place'. Centrepoint, the youth homelessness charity, warned that a challenge would be 'ensuring that proposed amendments don't have the unintended consequences of punishing people instead of supporting them'.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Rayner: rough sleeping will no longer be a crime
Rough sleeping is to be decriminalised as the Government abolishes a 200-year-old law that made it illegal. The Vagrancy Act, introduced in 1824 to tackle a homelessness crisis after the Industrial Revolution, is to be repealed by next spring, Angela Rayner has announced. The Deputy Prime Minister said the move would 'draw a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society, who deserve dignity and support'. It means it will no longer be an offence to sleep on a pavement, despite rising levels of homelessness across England. It raises the prospect of homeless people being able to freely camp on city centre streets. However, Labour is pledging to increase funding for homelessness services with an extra £233 million this financial year to provide alternatives to rough sleeping. New laws to protect the public will also be introduced to target organised begging by gangs, and trespassing with the intention to commit a crime. Announcing the moves, Ms Rayner said the aim was to tackle the root causes of homelessness, rather than criminalise the vulnerable. 'No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by scrapping this cruel and outdated law, we are making sure that can never happen again,' she said. The Vagrancy Act was designed to punish 'idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds, in England' as Britain faced rising homelessness after the Napoleonic wars and the Industrial Revolution. Most parts of the Act have been repealed but some remain in force in England and Wales to enable police to move on rather than prosecute rough sleepers and tackle begging. Charities have reported an increase in homelessness, with Shelter estimating there are 326,000 people, including 161,500 children, in England who are homeless, a 14 per cent increase on the previous year. It has led to encampments sprouting up in some of the most prosperous areas of cities. Last September, rough sleepers set up an encampment of 24 tents on Park Lane, adjacent to a property selling for £16.5 million. London has the highest rate of homelessness. The number of people classed as living on the streets in the capital has risen by more than a third (38 per cent) year on year – to 706 from 511 – according to figures for April. The number recorded as sleeping rough in London has also increased by 8 per cent, to 4,427 in the three months to March this year, from 4,118 in the same quarter last year. The UK's decision to decriminalise rough sleeping contrasts with the US, where the Supreme Court last summer gave cities the green light to crack down on homeless encampments. The US, in particular San Francisco, has been blighted by homelessness, leaving cities struggling with large tented encampments and drug problems. The Supreme Court ruled that cities enforcing anti-camping bans did not violate the constitution's eighth amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, even if homeless people had nowhere else to go. The judgment has resulted in rules including barring sleeping bags, forcing homeless people to move 300 feet every hour and making it illegal to camp anywhere at any time. Ms Rayner's department said the extra £233 million this financial year would bring total investment for 2025-26 to nearly £1 billion. It said this would prevent more families from ending up in temporary accommodation and 'tackle rough sleeping head-on'. It comes as separate Telegraph analysis suggested foreign-born heads of households in London cost Britain around £3.6 billion a year in discounted rent. Rushanara Ali, the homelessness minister, said: 'Scrapping the Vagrancy Act for good is another step forward in our mission to tackle homelessness in all its forms, by focusing our efforts on its root causes.' Amendments to the Government's Crime and Policing Bill will plug the gaps left by the repeal of the Vagrancy Act. These will create new offences of facilitating begging for gain and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously included under the 1824 Act. In 2023, the Prince of Wales launched a five-year programme to work towards eradicating homelessness. He previously discussed the issue with Sir Keir Starmer and has served meals to homeless people and sold copies of the Big Issue on the street to raise awareness. Matt Downie, the chief executive of Crisis, the homelessness charity, said: 'This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety.' Emma Haddad, the St Mungo's chief executive, said the Act's repeal 'cannot come soon enough' and called for a 'focus on tackling the health, housing and wider societal issues that are causing homelessness in the first place'. Youth homelessness charity Centrepoint warned that a challenge would be 'ensuring that proposed amendments don't have the unintended consequences of punishing people instead of supporting them'.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Rough sleeping to be decriminalised in England and Wales
Rough sleeping will be decriminalised next year under government plans to scrap a 200-year-old are planning to scrap the Vagrancy Act, which outlaws rough sleeping in England and law was introduced in 1824 to deal with rising homelessness, but Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has called it "cruel and outdated".The government's plan includes new legislation which will target crimes such as organised begging by gangs and trespassing, a statement said. Rayner, who is also housing secretary, said Labour was "drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society"."No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by scrapping this cruel and outdated law, we are making sure that can never happen again," she number of prosecutions and convictions under the 1824 act has declined over the past to government statistics, there were a total of 79 prosecutions and 59 convictions for offences related to rough sleeping in 2023 - down from a peak of 1,050 and 810 respectively in the Vagrancy Act was first announced in 2022 by the previous Conservative government. It had wanted to pass alternative legislation first, but this did not happen before the general election was called last party's Criminal Justice Bill would have allowed police to move on "nuisance" rough sleepers and fine them if they did not comply. The Labour government said it plans to replace the Vagrancy Act with "targeted measures" that will "ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe".These measures, which will be introduced through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, will include new offences of facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with the intention of committing a charities have long called for the Vagrancy Act to be chief executive Matt Downie said: "This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety."He praised the government for having "shown such principled leadership in scrapping this pernicious Act".He said: "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."
