Homelessness charities have hailed the repeal of the Vagrancy Act after 202 years as a “watershed”, “landmark” and “defining” moment.
Tomorrow, the government will repeal the 1824 act — which makes it a criminal offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales — using powers under the 2022 policing bill.
The measure was introduced in 1824 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and industrial revolution, but at least 485 people have been arrested under the act since Labour came to power in July 2024, according to Inside Housing. Campaigners say that the act has exacerbated homelessness.
Matt Downie, chief executive of Crisis, said the act’s repeal marked the end of a “deeply cruel policy”.
The government’s annual rough sleeping snapshot found 4,793 people on the streets on a single autumn night in 2025, a record number. Shelter estimates that 382,600 people in England are in B&Bs, hostels, sofa surfing or rough sleeping.
The government is spending £3.6bn over the next three years on the National Plan to End Homelessness, aiming to halve long-term rough sleeping and end the unlawful use of B&Bs for families.
Steve Reed, the housing secretary, said: “Homeless people are not criminals, they are people who need help. By repealing the outdated Vagrancy Act, we are shifting from punishment to prevention, alongside our investment to tackle homelessness for good.”
Kerri Douglas, 42, was arrested in her early 20s under the Vagrancy Act. She had spent time in the care system and began sleeping rough in Westminster at the age of 13.
“I had been having a hot chocolate and had an empty cup. The police accused me of begging and I spent the weekend in prison,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe I was being imprisoned for something which wasn’t in my control – I wasn’t begging, I didn’t choose to be homeless, I didn’t choose to grow up in care or all these other things which force people into this situation.”
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Housing Justice chief executive Bonnie Williams said the act’s repeal should be “more than symbolic” by being part of a change of approach to rough sleeping.
Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, said he hoped that the act’s repeal would show “the government’s ambition and intent to move away from a punitive, crisis-led response towards one rooted in prevention, cross-government responsibility and targeted support”.
Photograph by Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images