On 10 June 2025 the Government confirmed it will repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824 by Spring 2026, to ensure rough sleeping is no longer a criminal offence.

The Act was originally introduced in 1824 to deal with rising homelessness which increased after the Napoleonic Wars and Industrial Revolution. While use of the Act against rough sleeping has significantly declined over the years in line with modern attitudes and greater understanding around the causes of homelessness, it remains enforceable in law, and currently allows police to fine and arrest individuals for sleeping rough.

Government amendments to the Home Office’s Crime and Policing Bill are planned to focus on crime and not rough sleeping, with no replacement intended of previous legislation that criminalised people for sleeping rough.

New measures will ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe and these will include a new offence of facilitating begging for gain and an offence of trespassing with the intention of committing a crime, both of which were previously included under the 1824 Act.

Organised begging, which is often facilitated by criminal gangs, exploits vulnerable individuals, and can undermine the public’s sense of safety. This offence makes it unlawful for anyone to organise others to beg, like driving people to places for them to beg. It will allow the police to crack down on the organised crime gangs that exploit vulnerable people to obtain cash for illicit activity.

You can read the full announcement here. We will keep this page updated as the Bill progresses and more details emerge.

Our BID Street team continue to conduct their daily welfare checks and referrals on those rough sleeping within the BID area and also work closely with outreach services. Details of this and our Rough Sleeper Protocols can be found here.