Organisations in Wales have spoken about plans to criminalise rough sleeping.

Leading homelessness and housing organisers, including Crisis, CIH Cymru, and Shelter Cymru voiced concerns that new laws proposed by UK ministers would severely impact the safety and support for those facing street homelessness.

These laws would instigate police powers to control "nuisance rough sleeping" and "nuisance begging".

Potential punishments could range from enforcing a move, fines up to £2,500, or even imprisonment.

The organisations wrote to the Senedd’s Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee.

The letter warns that the proposed laws echo the defunct 200-year-old Vagrancy Act.

It argues that the laws would only push people into less safe areas and disrupt the trust between the homeless and supporting organisations, pushing them further away from help.

Welsh officials have already expressed concern over the bill, which contradicts their favoured trauma-informed approach to addressing street homelessness.

Crisis chief executive, Matt Downie, said: "A future without homelessness is possible, but criminalising people who have nowhere to go is most certainly not the answer.

"These proposals will do nothing to help people into safe and secure homes and only serve to push people away from support services.

“As the Bill progresses through the UK parliament, we hope the Members of the Senedd will join us in doing all they can to voice concerns around these cruel laws."

Adding to this, Llamau deputy chief executive, Sam Austin, said: "We are appalled at the idea of criminalising people just because they are homeless.

"The route to ending homelessness lies in early identification, prevention and intervention services, access to the right support at the right time to end the repeating cycle of homelessness, well-funded support and prevention services and more affordable homes - not in blame and criminalisation."

The public is now being urged to join more than 10,000 individuals who have petitioned their MPs to challenge these potentially harmful measures.