Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance she has issued to local authorities and police forces on the use of closure orders to tackle shops that persistently (a) sell prohibited goods to underage persons and (b) sell smuggled or counterfeit tobacco.

The Government published statutory guidance on 21 July 2014 for police, local councils, social landlords and others on the use of new anti-social behaviour powers in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, including the
community protection notice and closure power, which both came into force on 20 October 2014. This is general guidance and does not specifically refer to using the powers to tackle shops that persistently sell prohibited goods to
underage persons or sell smuggled or counterfeit tobacco. However, the closure power can be used to close these premises for up to six months if they are causing nuisance or disorder. The statutory guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332839/StatutoryGuidanceFrontline.pdf.