Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has hinted that the 19th-century law which criminalises rough sleeping and begging could finally be scrapped.
Responding to a question by Nickie Aiken MP during a debate on the latest rough sleeping figures, Jenrick said he believed the Vagrancy Act should be “consigned to history” and the Government would provide an update soon.
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“We have reviewed the Vagrancy Act and will be saying more in the weeks ahead,” Jenrick said.
“It is my opinion that the Vagrancy Act should be repealed. It is an antiquated piece of legislation whose time has been and gone.
“We should consider carefully whether better, more modern legislation could be introduced to preserve some aspects of it, but the Act itself, I think, should be consigned to history.”