UK law criminalizing rough sleeping and begging, the Vagrancy act, is finally being scrapped

The Vagrancy Act 1824[1] has been in place in the United Kingdom for almost 200 years, making it a criminal offence to rough sleep and beg. In February 2022, UK Ministers finally confirmed that the Vagrancy Act will be repealed as part of a government amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021[2].

The Vagrancy Act gave police the power to arrest people simply for sleeping rough

The Vagrancy Act 1824 provides for a range of offences, including that people can still be arrested for begging or sleeping in a public place in England and Wales. The Vagrancy Act is also aimed at punishing “every person wandering abroad and lodging in any barn or outhouse, or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or under a tent, or in any cart or wagon,” making the act a threat to Gypsy, Traveller, and Roma communities as well. Punishments under the act can include a fine of £1,000 and the risk of a criminal record and arrest. In 2020, 573 people were prosecuted under this act[3]. 

People experiencing homelessness need to be seen as right holders, not criminals

The Vagrancy act has long been condemned by the homelessness sector, human rights activists, and scholars since it does not solve the root causes of homelessness and does nothing to help people out of homelessness. Rather, criminalization measures like these can push homeless people further into poverty and social exclusion, and risk forcing people experiencing homelessness further away from vital services and instead driving them into the criminal justice system. People should not be punished for carrying out life-sustaining activities in public, such as sleeping, begging, eating, or performing personal hygiene activities[4]. The Vagrancy Act can also be argued to be incompatible with international human rights law. The right to adequate housing was recognized as part of the right to an adequate standard of living in article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in article 11.1 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as being referred to in several other human rights treaties[5]. 

Ways forward

Following an intense campaign led by Crisis, Scrap the Act campaign,[6] the UK government has finally announced its intention to repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act. The UK government has stated that this is part of their commitment to end rough sleeping. In addition to this, they are promising to commit over £800 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping for 2022 and £2 billion over the next three years and develop a new strategy on how to end rough sleeping for good. However, the government has stated that “In order to ensure that the police have the tools they need” the Act’s repeal will not be commenced until “appropriate replacement legislation is in place, “ensuring that we do not weaken the ability of police to protect communities”[7].  

Housing Rights Watch welcomes the repeal of the act the commitment to end rough sleeping. This reform is long overdue, and it is a good step in the right direction. However, it is not enough, and the replacements as well as the new strategy need to take human rights law into account, ensuring all people have the right to housing and to social support, without discrimination. So rather than keeping any criminalizing measures to eradicate homelessness, the focus must be on the promotion, protection, respect, and non-violation of the right to adequate housing, understood as a human right and based on the principle of human dignity[8]. This includes providing adequate housing solutions and social support for the most vulnerable and encouraging people experiencing homelessness to claim their rights[9]. Going forward, the UK government should continue to consider recommendations from Human Rights Institutes, NGOs, and work closely with homeless service providers, advocates, academics, and with people experiencing homelessness in shaping their new strategies and laws. Regarding the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill from 2021, UN special rapporteurs recently expressed their concerns of its incompatibility with international human rights law[10]. 

Further reading on criminalizing homelessness

Begging as a human right? – challenging the penalisation of begging in the EU in light of the recent Lăcătuş v. Switzerland case 

Mean Streets 

Criminalising homeless people – banning begging in the EU 

New UK policing bill could have detrimental impact on the rights of people that are rough sleeping and of nomadic communities