§ Miss LestorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any plans to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824.
§ Mr. John PattenNo. The Vagrancy Act 1824 has been much amended over the years and in its present form provides power to deal with a number of nuisances, including indecent exposure.
§ Miss LestorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department ( 1 ) how many prosecutions and convictions under the Vagrancy Act 1824 occurred in 1989 and 1990; and what was the average cost of prosecution;
(2) how many prosecutions and convictions under the Vagrancy Act 1824 occurred in 1989 and 1990 for young people under the age of 18 years; and what was the average cost of prosecution for this age group.
§ Mr. John PattenInformation for 1990 is not yet available. Prosecutions and convictions for 1989 for all Vagrancy Act offences are shown in the table.
Category Prosecutions Convictions All ages 3,482 2,839 Under 18 247 175 Prosecution costs are not available by reference to offence.