Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help county councils in using closure notices and closure orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The closure power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, enables police or local councils to quickly close premises which are causing or likely to cause nuisance or disorder.

County councils may issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area.

The closure power, along with all the powers in the 2014 Act, is deliberately local in nature, and it is for the relevant local agencies to determine whether its use is appropriate in the specific circumstances.