Homeless people are still being arrested under a 200-year-old act criminalising rough sleeping

Nearly 200 homeless people in London have been arrested in the past two years under a Georgian-era act that criminalises rough sleeping, new figures show.

The 1824 Vagrancy Act, which was originally introduced to combat the increased number of rough sleepers following the Napoleonic wars, has been criticised by campaigners for punishing homeless people and pushing them away from help.

Parliament voted to repeal the act in April 2022 but this has been delayed until the government brings in replacement legislation. The Tories tried to bring forward a new version of the bill that came under fire from MPs across parliament.

Under proposals put forward by then-home secretary Suella Braverman, police in England and Wales would have been given powers to fine or move on rough sleepers deemed to be causing a “nuisance”.

The bill was not passed ahead of the general election, meaning the Vagrancy Act is still in use. New data from the Metropolitan Police shows 175 homeless people - 148 men and 27 women - have been arrested under the Vagrancy Act in London from April 2022 to June 2024.

The number of people rough sleeping in London has been increasing in the past year, with 4,223 people recorded as sleeping on the streets from April to June 2024. This was up 29 per cent on the same period last year.

New rough sleepers accounted for 46 per cent of this number, with those recorded as consistently living on the street also increasing.

Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett, who received the figures from the Met, said: “Homelessness should not be a crime. The overwhelmingly disproportionate use of this old law to criminalise people sleeping rough on our streets is a policy failure, a policing failure, and most definitely a housing failure.

“If we are serious about getting our unhoused neighbours off the street and into safe, stable housing, we must acknowledge these failures and invest more into solutions at the root of the problem. I will continue to push the mayor to direct more funding for buying existing houses and putting them in the council housing supply.”

Labour pledged to introduce a cross-government strategy, working with mayors and councils across the country, to end homelessness in their manifesto.

Matt Downie, chief executive of homeless charity Crisis, said: “After 200 long years, it really is time to repeal the Vagrancy Act. Fining and imprisoning people forced to sleep rough is cruel and counterproductive. It undermines efforts to resolve the causes of homelessness and pushes people further away from help and support.

“To help the record numbers of people sleeping on London’s streets, we also need the new UK government to focus on solutions that provide compassion and support. That means building on its promising pledges by creating a unit for ending homelessness, backed by the prime minister, and delivering a new generation of social and affordable homes.”

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said Sadiq Khan was “doing everything in his power to help people off the streets and into more secure accommodation”.

They said he had quadrupled the rough sleeping budget since 2016, adding: “Sadiq supports a change in legislation that puts an end to the unfair criminalisation of people who find themselves sleeping rough. He will work hand-in-hand with the new government to increase the delivery of services and support to end rough sleeping in the capital by 2030 – helping to build a better, fairer London for all.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to tackling the issues that cause people to become homeless and will work with mayors and councils to develop a new cross-government strategy to put Britain back on track to ending homelessness.

“This will include consideration of any relevant legislation.”