§ Mr. Sorensenasked the Home Secretary whether he will indicate to local authorities the inapplicability of by-laws empowering three householders taking proceedings against a neighbour for a nuisance caused by a loud-speaker when only two householders are adjacent, when the nuisance, although affecting neighbours on each side of the offender, cannot or does not affect a third householder further away, or when the loud-speaker or similar nuisance affects only the neighbour on the other side of the wall where it is placed; and whether he will advise local authorities to amend their by-laws so as to cover these cases?
§ Sir S. HoareThere is a distinction between private nuisances for which remedy should be sought by civil procedure and general nuisances which can properly be made the subject of criminal proceedings, and the limitation in the existing by-laws has been adopted because of this consideration and not from any failure on the part of local authorities to recognise that there may be cases of annoyance which are not covered by the by-law.
§ Mr. Sorensenasked the Home Secretary how many persons during the past 10 years have been warned or prosecuted under Section 14 of the Metropolitan Police Act, 1839; and how many of these have been in connection with loud speakers?
§ Sir S. HoareThe hon. Member no doubt has in mind paragraph 14 of Section 54 of the Act mentioned. I regret that the information for which he asks is not available, as no separate record is kept of these particular prosecutions.