I'd guess the tricky part there is proving intent. If I sign up to a VPN so I can watch sports or other geo-restricted content while on holiday, does that count?
In a fully authoritarian state of course you likely don't have to worry too much about proof, but I'd suggest the UK has a ways to go for that.
On the piracy front, well we've seen how successful they were in stopping piracy.... not at all.
This also has the benefit (to the government) of criminalising individuals, making prosecution much easier and allowing it to be more selective according to the government's whims. It reminds me of the way the US dealt with piracy, you could go after a bunch of college kids to make a point etc.