An ‘archaic’ law that allowed people to be prosecuted for rough sleeping and begging has been repealed, ending legislation charities have described as cruel. Today (29 June), the government formally abolished the Vagrancy Act, ending more than 200 years of legislation first introduced in 1824 to tackle rising homelessness in the wake of the Napoleonic … Continue reading ‘Watershed moment’: 200-year-old homelessness law scrapped