Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that their intention to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824 by spring 2026 does not cause an increase in homelessness and rough sleeping; and what plans they have to offer additional financial support to local authorities in England to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.

The Vagrancy Act 1824 does nothing to tackle the root causes of homelessness, which is why we will be the government which repeals this punitive legislation.

At the same time, homelessness levels are far too high. This can have a devastating impact on those affected. We must address this and deliver long term solutions. The government is looking at these issues carefully and will develop a new cross government strategy to get us back on track to ending homelessness.

The government have already taken the first steps to getting back on track to ending homelessness, including making a £1 billion investment in homelessness and rough sleeping services this year (2025/26), a £233 million increase on the previous year.