A former Labour adviser who experienced homelessness has welcomed the Government's decision to repeal the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act but warned that decriminalisation alone will not solve the housing crisis.

Matthew Torbitt, who spent time sleeping rough, said the move to scrap the 1824 law was "a positive step" but insisted broader reforms were essential to tackle homelessness effectively.

"I think if you criminalise homelessness, it doesn't solve homelessness. All it does is move the problem elsewhere," Torbitt said.

The government announced yesterday it would end nearly two centuries of criminalising rough sleeping through amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill.

Matthew Torbitt spent time sleeping rough when he was a teenager

However, Torbitt cautioned: "But a repeal on its own is not enough, because the repeal itself doesn't necessarily put a roof over someone's head."

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner described the Vagrancy Act as "outdated" and said the government was "drawing a line under nearly two centuries of injustice towards some of the most vulnerable in society, who deserve dignity and support."

The former Labour adviser explained: "The homeless need access to mental health, drug care or a route out of homelessness.

"I think what this should be part of, and I would hope it is but I won't hold my breath, a wider package. What I would like to see if for the government to commit to 90,000 social homes per year.

"You need that figure at the moment, for about 15 years to try and get anywhere near ending homelessness, as well as the rollout nationally of the Housing First model.

"In this country we do treatment first. So you've got to get clean, you've got to kick the alcohol addiction or whatever it is you might be addicted too, then we'll give you the housing.

"Well, anyone sleeping on the streets will tell you it's hard to give up that sort of stuff anyway. Even harder if you're homeless."

Minister for Homelessness Rushanara Ali called the repeal "a historic shift in how we're responding to the rough sleeping crisis."

"Scrapping the Vagrancy Act for good is another step forward in our mission to tackle homelessness in all its forms, by focusing our efforts on its root causes," Ali said.

The government said it would concentrate efforts on addressing the root causes of homelessness, supported by major funding.

The government announced yesterday it would end nearly two centuries of criminalising rough sleeping

The Vagrancy Act was introduced in 1824 following the Napoleonic wars, when many soldiers returned to unemployment and homelessness increased across England and Wales.

The law was created to allow authorities to "deal with people considered idle or disorderly" and outlawed both begging and sleeping rough.

Section 3 of the act made it illegal for anyone to place themselves in public spaces to beg or gather alms, whilst Section 4 specifically criminalised rough sleeping.

Though prosecutions under the act have decreased in modern times due to growing understanding of homelessness, the law remained on the statute books for 200 years.