Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour on the high street in (a) Tunstall, (b) Stoke-on-Trent North and (c) Kidsgrove.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government recently announced Respect Orders, which will be introduced in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill. Respect Orders can be applied for by police and local councils and are issued by the courts. They will enable courts to place wide-ranging restrictions on the behaviour of the most persistent and disruptive ASB offenders. They will include a power of arrest for any suspected breach, meaning officers can take action quickly to disrupt ongoing ASB. Breach will be a criminal offence, which is heard in the criminal courts with a wide range of sentencing options, including community orders, unlimited fines and, for the most severe cases, up to two years’ imprisonment.
We will also put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities, so residents know who to turn to when things go wrong.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle anti-social behaviour caused by the illegal use of off-road bikes.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government will give police the powers they need to swiftly seize dangerous and antisocial off-road vehicles and take them off the streets for good.
Enforcement of road traffic law, including in relation to the anti-social behaviour caused by the use of illegal off-road bikes, is an operational matter for Chief Officers who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority for this Government, and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
We will put thousands of new neighbourhood police and community support officers into local communities, such as Stoke-on-Trent, and crack down on those causing havoc on our high streets by introducing tougher powers including new Respect Orders to tackle repeat offending.
Asked by: David Williams (Labour - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls in (a) Stoke-on-Trent North constituency and (b) Kidsgrove.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Tackling violence against women and girls is a top priority for this government and we will treat it as a national emergency. Our mission is to halve levels of these crimes within a decade, using every lever available to us. This means reforming the police response to these crimes, strengthening the criminal justice system, and empowering victims by providing access to specialist support when they need it. The Home Office is working closely with other departments and stakeholders in developing plans to deliver this ambition.
In September, we unveiled a series of measures designed to strengthen the police response to domestic abuse, protect victims and hold perpetrators to account. From early 2025, under a new approach named ‘Raneem’s Law’, domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in 999 control rooms to advise on risk assessments, work with officers on the ground and ensure that victims are referred to appropriate support services swiftly. We are also working with the police to develop a national framework utilising data-driven tools and algorithms to track and target high-harm offenders involved in domestic abuse, sexual assault, harassment, and stalking.