Lack of policy on begging arrests “shocking” say Welsh Lib Dems

48 people were arrested in SThe Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on Wales’ police forces to stop using a 200-year old law to arrest and prosecute rough sleepers, after a senior police officer admitted there was no consistent policy on its use.

Jeremy Vaughan, Assistant Chief Constable of South Wales Police, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning that “we don’t have an arrest policy” on use of the disputed Vagrancy Act, despite the force arresting 48 people under the Act in the 12 months to April 2019.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has led the campaign in Westminster to repeal the Vagrancy Act (1824), which many forces in England choose not to use and which has already been repealed in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Jane Dodds, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said:

“It’s quite frankly shocking that a police force as large as South Wales has no consistent policy on using this outdated law, despite dozens being arrested because of it in the last year.

“The growing number of people homeless and begging on our streets is a national tragedy, and as Jeremy Vaughan admitted this morning there is no instance where arresting them will help solve their problems.

“Many police forces in England choose not to use this 200-year-old law because they know it’s unfit for the modern age. South Wales Police and the rest of Wales’ forces should follow suit and abandon this arcane law.”

The admission comes as housing charity Crisis launch their report into the case for repealing the Vagrancy Act.

The report says that the Act “does not tackle the problems people have, and there is evidence that it can also push people further from the help they need.”

Speaking ahead of the launch, Lib Dem MP Layla Moran said:

“I absolutely welcome the publication of this report. You can’t ignore the evidence and it is clear that the Government needs to repeal the Dickensian Vagrancy Act. It is making many people’s situation even worse.

“Now is the time to act. I will not stop campaigning until we have scrapped this cruel law and we take a more compassionate approach to the homelessness crisis we are facing in this country.

“Almost 600 homeless people died on our streets in 2017 alone. We need to end this ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude that the Act promotes and get on with fixing the problem.”

.
Do you agree that the Vagrancy Act should be scrapped? Click here to add your name.

Jeremy Hunt’s Financial Statement Offers Only Uncertainty for Welsh Families

Commenting on Jeremy Hunt’s shock economic intervention Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “Hunt’s statement points to the despicable damage that the Conservatives continue to wreck on households, businesses and individuals. All his statement today has done is cause wider uncertainty for households and the businesses sector. “The Conservatives are trashing the economy with every day that passes and creating havoc for peoples’ mortgages. Now they are planning to inflict even more suffering by raising energy bills, hiking taxes and slashing crucial public services. These service cuts will see knock-on effects to the Welsh Government as budgets for key departments like education and health may be squeezed even tighter. “What’s worst is they are still determined to protect oil and gas giants from a proper windfall tax and they are still cutting taxes for the big banks. “Truss and Kwarteng are symptoms of a wider problem. This entire Conservative par

Significant Gaps Remain in Welsh Government Building Safety Announcement

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed progress announced today in the Welsh Government’s building safety announcement but have warned significant gaps remain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Cardiff Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rhys Taylor addressing building saftey campaigners. The announcement given by Environment Minister Julie James MS confirmed that 9 property developers have now signed up to the Welsh Government’s “Developers Pact” agreeing in theory their responsibility to remediate buildings they constructed with safety defects. The announcement follows a lengthy campaign by leaseholders in the five years since the Grenfell Tower Disaster. However, three major developers are still yet to reply. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that due to the Welsh Government’s failure to work with the UK Government on the Building Safety Act, they are left with little to no options to deal with the property developers who have refuse

Welsh Lamb Exports to the US Welcome - But the Conservatives Are Paving Over Other Cracks

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS. "While we will of course always welcome more export opportunities for our fantastic Welsh produce, Liz Truss and the Conservatives are trying to plaster over the cracks regarding the damage they have already done to the Welsh farming sector. "That is that they sold out Welsh farmers for cheap trade deals with Australia and New Zealand for nothing in return. This was spearheaded by Liz Truss despite Australian commentators even being in disbelief about how lopsided the deals were. “Tariff free access by New Zealand in particular poses a direct threat to the survival of the Welsh lamb industry and the communities it supports, including Welsh language communities. "If Liz Truss was supportive of such poor trade deals already, it does beg the question how much more damage she could do to the sector as the UK seeks revised trading arrangements with the likes of the US, Argentina and Brazil. “This is of cou

Welsh Liberal blogs

Search This Blog