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<p>This Government is clear that no-one should be criminalised simply for having nowhere
to live and sleeping rough. The cross-Government Rough Sleeping Strategy, which was
published in August, committed to reviewing homelessness and rough sleeping legislation,
including the Vagrancy Act 1824. The Government believes that review of the 1824 Act,
rather than immediate wholesale repeal, is the right course of action to ensure the
consequences of repeal are fully understood and other options are properly considered.</p><p>For
example, the consequences of repeal on the police’s ability to deal with certain street
behaviours and the potential impact of offences under alternative legislation, which
might have a higher burden of proof and higher penalties than those under the 1824
Act, would be areas of consideration. Policy officials are currently developing the
terms of reference for the review.</p><p> </p>
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