Rough sleeping is to be decriminalised by Spring next year under radical plans by Labour to stop people becoming homeless in the first place.
The number of rough sleepers has risen dramatically since 2010, from 1,768 people thought to be sleeping rough on an average night in England to 4,667 last year.
Around three in 10 of those sleeping out are in London, up from around 23 per cent in 2010 - evidenced by US-style 'tent cities' that have cropped up in high-profile locations such as Park Lane and University College Hospital London.
To tackle the issue, the Government says it will repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act - a 200-year-old law first introduced to tackle mass rough sleeping following the Napoleonic Wars - and bring in £1billion of anti-homelessness initiatives.
The move to repeat the Act was first announced in 2022 by the Conservatives, but was not brought to Parliament before Labour took power.
