I have been incredibly shocked by the extreme measures proposed by the Government to criminalise rough sleeping, as part of the Criminal Justice Bill.

I can assure you that I strongly object to the proposed provisions on nuisance rough sleeping.

It was not long ago that we had cross party support to effectively decriminalise rough sleeping, by repealing the Vagrancy Act of 1824. A truly momentous moment for campaigners and a step towards tackling the problem of homelessness with humanity and nuance.

In response the Tories have taken the unnecessary and cruel decision to introduce a framework on ‘nuisance begging’ and ‘nuisance rough sleeping’. This includes granting an ‘authorised person’ the power to direct an individual to move on from a location and not return for 72 hours. It also creates prevention notices and orders, which, if not complied with, can result in a fine of £2,500, a month in prison, or both.

These steps seek only to punish those already in dire circumstances. We must remember that rough sleeping is a symptom of other policy failures – such as housing, poverty, and mental healthcare provision. According to Shelter, there are over 300,000 people currently experiencing homelessness in England. Aggressive rough sleepers need support, and I do not feel that criminalising those in need will help to resolve this issue. By not addressing the root causes of homelessness, this Bill does not go far enough to address the challenges that we face.  

I have seen the reality of this situation first-hand, as many people from our community have reached out to me in need of support due to poor social housing, rent issues and homelessness. I have been left appalled by the dire situations many people across Sheffield Heeley have been left in due to the Government’s negligence and failure to improve our housing system. 

It is true that some organised criminal gangs can use begging for their own ends, and these strategies can be aggressive and antisocial. This is wrong, and I therefore support powers that can tackle organised begging. These powers do, however, require greater humanity to protect those who are being exploited and are genuinely destitute. My colleagues laid several amendments on the issue of nuisance begging at Committee Stage which, disappointingly, did not pass.

I want to see cross-party work done to improve this legislation. I supported the Bill at Second Reading, as it includes welcome measures on issues such as fraud, antisocial behaviour and image-based abuse.