Anti-social Behaviour (Authorised Persons) Order 2015

Baroness Williams of Trafford Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd March 2015 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

That the Grand Committee do consider the Anti-social Behaviour (Authorised Persons) Order 2015.

Relevant document: 20th Report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, I beg to move the order, which was laid before Parliament on 14 January 2015. The purpose of the order is to enable local authorities to authorise a housing provider to issue community protection notices under Section 43 and fixed penalty notices under Section 52 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, in Chapter 1 of Part 4 of that Act.

Along with other new powers under the Act, community protection notices came into force on 20 October 2014. They are intended to deal with particular, ongoing problems or nuisances which negatively affect the community’s quality of life by targeting those responsible. Community protection notices can be issued by local authorities, the police or police community support officers, where designated by their chief constable, or a person designated by the local authority to individuals over the age of 16, or to a business or organisation.

A notice may be given if the issuing body is satisfied on reasonable grounds that the conduct of the individual or body is having a detrimental effect on the lives of those in the locality, is persistent or continuing in nature, and is unreasonable—for example, noise nuisance, dog-related anti-social behaviour or environmental anti-social behaviour such as littering. Before a notice can be issued, a written warning must be given to the person committing the anti-social behaviour. The written warning must make it clear that if a person does not stop the anti-social behaviour, they could be issued with the notice. Enough time must be left between a written warning being given and the issuing of a community protection notice to allow the person to deal with the matter. The person can appeal against the issuing of the community protection notice to the magistrates’ court. The notice should give details on how an individual can appeal.

If a notice is issued it may impose requirements to stop doing certain things, to do certain things, or to take reasonable steps to achieve certain results to prevent the behaviour occurring in future. Failure to comply with a community protection notice without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence subject to a fixed penalty notice or prosecution. A person found guilty on summary conviction may receive a fine. However, a person given a fixed penalty notice may discharge any liability to conviction for the offence if they pay the penalty amount of up to £100 within 14 days.

As I mentioned, community protection notices can be issued by a person designated by the relevant local authority. Only persons specified in an order made by the Secretary of State may be designated in this way. As housing providers in England and Wales manage a vast number of dwellings and deal with thousands of complaints of anti-social behaviour every year, we believe that there is a formal role for them in using the community protection notice. The order will therefore allow local authorities to designate housing providers—namely, a housing trust, a housing action trust, a non-profit private provider of social housing, a landlord under a secure tenancy, or, in relation to Wales, a Welsh body registered as a social landlord—to issue community protection notices and fixed penalty notices in order better to protect communities from anti-social behaviour.

The order makes a relatively minor but important provision that complements the wider anti-social behaviour reforms introduced under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, which gives front-line professionals faster and more effective powers to protect victims and communities, and I commend the order to the Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank the noble Lord for his comments. I am afraid that I cannot comment on differences between departments being referred to in the House of Commons, other than that they have been resolved and referred to normal discussions between government departments. The civil injunctions aspect will commence on 23 March. The noble Lord also asked whether that meant that the SI would be there in good time, before the Dissolution of Parliament. By inference, the answer would be yes. He also asked about costs. I do not have any costs before me; if it is okay, I will return to him on that.

Motion agreed.