Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department holds data on the Public Space Protection Orders in force by local authority.

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of tools and powers they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour (ASB), including the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).

The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately flexible in nature, and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in the specific circumstances of each individual case.

The Home Office does currently not hold data on the number of PSPOs in force but is taking action to address that through the Government’s Crime and Policing Bill, introduced to Parliament on 25 February 2025. This Bill will introduce a new power for the Home Secretary to make regulations requiring key local agencies, such as local authorities, to report information about ASB to the Government.

Breach of a PSPO is a criminal offence. Depending on the behaviour in question, the enforcing officer could decide a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) would be the most appropriate sanction. As set out in legislation, FPNs have a fixed upper limit of £100. Provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill will increase the upper limit for breach of a PSPO to £500. This is a penalty for failing to comply with a requirement of the PSPO.

We will be issuing accompanying statutory guidance which will emphasise the importance of the new limits being used proportionately. The guidance will also recommend that local authorities include wording on proportionate use of FPNs in any service level agreements with contractors.