The Vagrancy Act has been scrapped

Today is the first time in over 200 years that rough sleeping isn’t a criminal offence. Although rarely used in this day and age, the Vagrancy Act still implied that someone sleeping on the streets was at fault instead of deserving support.

Porchlight and other charities have been campaigning for the Vagrancy Act to end for a long time. We’re relieved that the government has listened. Hopefully, this signals a shift towards a more humane approach towards people experiencing homelessness: that they’re treated with compassion and helped to rebuild their lives.

We also hope this signals the government’s intention to focus measures that address the causes of homelessness. This can be done by tackling the rising cost of living and unaffordable housing. There must also be long-term investment in homelessness support services for people who fall through the net and end up on the streets.