Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the time taken to bring forward legislative proposals to replace the Vagrancy Act 1824 on the number of arrests of rough sleepers.

The Government does not collect figures on police usage of the Vagrancy Act where this does not result in prosecution.

As the Government made clear at the time, the repeal of the Vagrancy Act will be brought into force once suitable replacement legislation is in place to ensure local authorities and police have the powers, they need to support vulnerable individuals and keep communities safe.