Angela Rayner has sparked fears of tent cities appearing across the UK as rough sleeping is legalised. Critics of the policy say it will lead to a “free-for-all” on pavements and encourage more organised begging, which is illegal and often led by criminal gangs. The Vagrancy Act, introduced in 1824 for punishment of “idle and disorderly persons, and rogues and vagabonds, in England”, is to be repealed by spring next year, the Government confirmed. Ms Rayner said: “No one should ever be criminalised simply for sleeping rough and by scrapping this cruel and outdated law, we are making sure that can never happen again.”

Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali described the “archaic” Act as “neither just nor fit for purpose”. She added: “Scrapping the Vagrancy Act for good is another step forward in our mission to tackle homelessness in all its forms, by focusing our efforts on its root causes.” “Targeted measures”, the the Government says, will “ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe – filling the gap left over by removing previous powers”.

The move would decriminalise rough sleeping in the UK (Image: Getty)

These will be brought in through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill.

New offences are set to be legislated, including facilitating begging for gain and trespassing with the intention of committing a crime.

“Labour’s approach will result in a pavement free-for-all in our towns and cities,” Conservative communities spokesman, Kevin Hollinrake MP, told the MailOnline.

“They just don’t understand or care how this affects law-abiding local residents and the impact it has on their pride of place.”

Chris Philp, the Tory home affairs spokesman, told the Telegraph: “This move risks turning British cities into a version of San Francisco, which has become overrun by encampments of homeless people.

“We need to ensure support but there need to be strong enforcement powers as well.”

According to the latest Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) statistics, the total number recorded as sleeping rough in London was 4,427 for the three months to March 2025.

This represents a nearly 8% increase from 4,118 for the same quarter last year.

Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said: “This is a landmark moment that will change lives and prevent thousands of people from being pushed into the shadows, away from safety.”