Nearly 2,500 homeless people have been arrested in England and Wales under the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act in the past five years, new figures show.

A total of 2,412 people were arrested under the 1824 Act, which was originally created to combat the increase in rough sleeping following the Napoleonic Wars.

The law criminalizes sleeping rough and gives police the power to arrest and prosecute any homeless person found begging in public.

Merseyside Police made the most arrests under Georgian laws with 866 arrests, followed by West Midlands Police with 307 arrests, and Devon and Cornwall Police with 30 arrests 135 people.

Campaigners are urging the government to repeal the Vagrancy Act and amend the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

In April 2022, the government announced it would repeal the Act, but has not yet done so, saying it would not come into force until “appropriate replacement legislation” was introduced.

Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak faces Tory pushback over plans to make homelessness part of a criminal justice bill.

Current plans will give police powers to fine rough sleepers for “nuisance”, a definition that includes “excessive noise” and “odour”.

It would also make it a criminal offense to sleep rough in a place where someone is causing or likely to cause damage, distress or a risk to health and safety.

Failure to comply with a rough sleeping nuisance notice is punishable by imprisonment for up to one month.

Figures revealed by the Lib Dems through a freedom of information request also found a further 469 homeless people had been arrested since the government announced it would appeal against the bill.

According to official government statistics, the number of people sleeping rough on a single night in 2023 is estimated at 3,898, a 27% increase on 2022.

Lib Dem MP for Oxford West and Abingdon Layla Moran, who is spearheading the cross-party campaign to repeal the Vagrancy Act, said: “It is shocking that due to the government’s delay in replacing the Vagrancy Act, Act, the police still have the power to arrest rough sleepers.” Take action and use these powers to such great effect. No one should be criminalized for sleeping rough, especially under a piece of legislation passed during the Georgian era.

“The Criminal Justice Bill is the Homelessness Act 2024. Experts in this field have long argued for a compassionate approach to homelessness. But instead, this government is determined to treat homeless people in a cruel and criminalizing way Rough sleepers.”

A government spokesman said: “We are determined to end rough sleeping for good and we have a plan to tackle the root causes of why people end up on the streets, backed by an unprecedented £2.4 billion.

“We are repealing the outdated Vagrancy Act and replacing it with new legislation focused on supporting people off the streets, while allowing local authorities and police to tackle behavior that may make the public feel unsafe, such as begging at ATMs.”