Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop begging which is organised by criminal gangs.

On 10th June, the Government announced its intention to repeal the outdated Vagrancy Act 1824. The Government has been clear that no one should be criminalised simply for having nowhere to live.

We have introduced targeted replacement measures in the Crime and Policing Bill to ensure police have the powers they need to keep communities safe, including a new criminal offence of facilitating begging for gain, an offence which was previously provided for under the 1824 Act.

This is intended to address organised begging, which is often facilitated by criminal gangs, and exploits vulnerable individuals.

This offence makes it unlawful for anyone to organise others to beg, for example, by driving people to places for them to beg. It will allow the police to tackle the organised crime gangs that use this exploitative technique to obtain cash for illicit activity.