Homelessness

Lord Young of Cookham Excerpts

Thursday 23rd January 2020 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

I do not have the figures for ex-service personnel but I know that there are some. I will write to my noble friend with the figures, if we have them.

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, further to my noble friend Lord Lamont’s question, will the Government review the Vagrancy Act 1824? It has the unfortunate consequence of criminalising rough sleepers, by bringing them before the courts. This isolates them from the support that the Government are funding through housing and employment. As it approaches its bicentenary, should this Act not be repealed?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

My noble friend is right that the Act is antiquated—perhaps a bit of an understatement. I understand that it was originally brought in to make it easier to clear the streets of destitute soldiers after the Napoleonic wars. On the point that he raises, however, the Government believe that a review of the Act rather than immediate wholesale repeal is the right course of action, to ensure that the consequences of a repeal are fully understood.