- Backbenchers oppose criminalizing homelessness, challenging government’s proposed bill
- Conservative MPs and opposition unite against the Criminal Justice Bill
- Amendments proposed to eliminate punitive measures against rough sleepers
Two years after the House of Commons voted to repeal legislation that criminalized homelessness after two centuries, the bill remains in effect until a replacement is proposed. A substantial group of backbench Conservatives, nevertheless, opposes the new legislation.
Backbenchers of the government are in rebellion against initiatives to “criminalize” homelessness.
Rebels assert that forty Conservatives, representing both the left and right wings of the party, are unwilling to support the Criminal Justice Bill as it stands. With the assistance of opposition MPs, a group of forty could easily defeat the government’s majority of 53.
It is said that the legislation, introduced to the House of Commons for the first time in November of last year, is in purgatory while the government and members of Parliament negotiate.
Despite a government vote two years ago to repeal it, rough lodging remains prohibited under the Vagrancy Act 1824, which has been in effect for two centuries.
Nevertheless, it continues to be codified in law until a viable substitute is established—an objective the government aspires to accomplish with the Criminal Justice Bill.
In addition to provisions for “nuisance prevention orders” and the ability to forcibly relocate homeless sleepers, the bill includes provisions for such actions.
The government intends to address “nuisance begging” rather than homelessness in general. However, charitable organizations such as Crisis have highlighted the expansive nature of the government-provided definition, which encompasses factors such as sleeping in a doorway, emitting an “excessive smell,” or an individual “appearing to be planning to sleep on the streets.”
This could expose individuals to “criminalization based solely on their appearance or behaviour.”
Members of the Conservative Party in Parliament have endorsed amendments that seek to eliminate these sections of the measure, among other modifications.
It is estimated that approximately forty individuals, including Bob Blackman, Nickie Aiken, Tracey Crouch, Selaine Saxby, Stephen Hammond, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Jo Gideon, Caroline Nokes, Derek Thomas, John Penrose, and Damian Green, support the proposed reforms.
In addition, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green, and Plaid Cymru Members of Parliament support this.
A similar group of members of Parliament has also supported a proposal to mandate the repeal of the Vagrancy Act if the Criminal Justice Bill is enacted.
Mr Blackman told The Times that a number of his colleagues consider the measure in its current form to be utterly unacceptable, as it would criminalize individuals who are compelled to sleep on the streets.
Furthermore, we urge ministers to reconsider, he continued.
As opposed to criminalizing them, Mr Green stated that the amendments outline a “practical way forward to assist people off the streets.”
According to a source for the Home Office, they were unaware that the measure was undergoing negotiations.
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The measure was introduced into committee on December 12, a stage where amendments are permitted. It has yet to be returned to the House of Commons for a vote.
Instead of stigmatizing and criminalizing rough sleepers, the government should adopt a compassionate approach to addressing homelessness, according to Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran. This is in contrast to the advice of their backbenchers.
Crisis’s chief executive officer, Matt Downie, stated, “The criminalization of rough sleeping should never have been a government policy; therefore, we would be ecstatic to see these utterly destructive proposals that do nothing to assist individuals in escaping the streets” put back into action.
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