The Vagrancy Act: 200 year old law criminalising homelessness in the capital could be scrapped

A 200-year-old law that makes it a crime to sleep rough in England and Wales could be scrapped.

"These are the most vulnerable people in our society and they need and deserve our help, not to be made criminals," says MP for the City of London and Westminster Nickie Aiken, who led a debate last night in Parliament.

"I don't think we necessarily need laws, what we need is a new approach, which does put mental health, addiction at the absolute core of what we do."

Campaigners say until the Act is scrapped, vulernable people will continue to be pushed further from vital services.

Paul Atherton - who has spent long stints rough sleeping - says housing should be a priority.

He says he became homeless in 2009, after he couldn't renew his accommodation due to an administrative error made on his credit file.

Before the pandemic Mr Atherton - who is a film-maker - regularly took shelter in Heathrow’s Terminal Five.

He has been in a hotel in Marylebone paid for by Westminster Council since April 2020, when the Government launched its Everyone In initiative, which saw rough sleepers given shelter with no strings attached - which he says has been transformative.

He stresses though housing alone won't result in the end of homelessness.

"Once people are inside, that is only the start, it is not the end," he says.

Further support for health conditions, mental health, and addictions in some cases, is vital beyond that point, he continues.