The Government has repealed the 1824 Vagrancy Act, which made rough sleeping and begging a criminal offense. This will mean that the police will no longer be able to “move on” such individuals, and will only make dealing with the country’s increasing homelessness problem — with numbers the highest they have been since records began — even harder.

Much of the UK’s shoplifting epidemic, and other forms of antisocial behavior, are committed by those most accurately described as vagrants. Just days ago, I witnessed three staff members of a pub having to ask a person to leave as they refused to buy anything, while stuffing several condiment bottles into their bag. The police were eventually called and the person left. This was a waste of staff and police time. Yet how many hours are spent by employees dealing with incidents such as this?

While the repeal of the Act is no doubt well-meaning, that does not mean it is good policy. Speaking as someone who volunteers at a homeless shelter, it is far from a straightforward issue. People become homeless for all sorts of reasons: escaping a violent domestic situation, addiction, mental health problems, or simply because they’ve fallen on hard times. Such people need help and compassion. However, scrapping the Vagrancy Act is neither helpful nor compassionate to them or the rest of society.

Vagrancy imposes direct costs on firms, workers, households, and society. Businesses see footfall decline, as customers avoid areas filled with homeless people, and are forced to hire security staff who are often powerless to stop shoplifters or move beggars away. Workers fear being attacked if they ask a homeless person to leave their store or its doorway. Households witness the cost of the weekly food shop increase as supermarkets attempt to recoup their losses. And whole communities witness their formerly pristine neighborhoods ruined as tent cities pop up across the UK.

The high street and the hospitality industry have already taken a hammering due to the plethora of taxes, regulations and bills they face. By decriminalizing vagrancy, the Government is adding to the list by removing what few legal tools businesses had to deal with yet another costly burden.

To really solve the issue of homelessness, there will first need to be more funding for mental health and addiction treatment. Secondly, we cannot ignore the fact that many people are homeless because housing is so expensive. The only way to make housing more affordable is to liberalize the planning system so that more homes can be built.

There also needs to be strict enforcement. The criminal justice system should be given greater powers to make sure that people get the treatment they need. The kindest thing for people with addiction or serious mental health problems — and for society — is for them to be somewhere they can receive attention, rather than ending up on the streets.

Repealing the Vagrancy Act was the wrong move. Homelessness and begging impose huge costs on society and constitute a tragedy for those who find themselves in that situation. The Government needs to do far more to address it.

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Ben Ramanauskas is a senior fellow in economics at Policy Exchange and a former adviser to the UK Government.

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