§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the operation of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 as it relates to assembly and trespass; and if he will make a statement. [29051]
§ Mr. MacleanSection 70 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 amended part II of the Public Order Act 1986 by inserting two new sections to deal with trespassory assemblies. They provide for chief officers of police to apply to the appropriate local council for an order prohibiting the holding of all trespassory assemblies within a given area for a period of not more than four days, where they reasonably believe that a trespassory assembly will be held which might result in serious disruption to local residents or significant damage to a site of historical, architectural, archaeological or scientific importance.
The consent of my right hon. and learned Friend to the making of an order is required. This ensures that they are as restricted and selective in scope as is necessary to meet the objective of protecting the community. Since these provisions came into force my right hon. and learned Friend has given his consent to Salisbury district council making two such orders which applied to a four mile radius of Stonehenge between 29 May and 1 June and 17 and 21 June. The enforcement of these orders is an operational matter for the chief officer of Wiltshire constabulary. No other orders have been made under the section.
We are continuing to monitor the other public order measures in part V of the Act but it will be some time before we are able to assess their effectiveness.