§ Mr. PoundTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to address the problem of travellers occupying open space in London suburbs. [82718]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Home Office and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) has recently issued good practice guidance on dealing with unauthorised camping by travellers. Operational guidelines on the use of police powers to remove trespassers under section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 are issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and are currently under review. I have made clear to ACPO that I expect police powers to be used at an early stage where necessary, particularly where traveller encampments are associated with problems of crime, disorder or disruption to the local community. The use of police powers in individual cases is an operational decision for the senior police officer present at the scene. The 1994 Act also provides powers to local authorities to remove trespassers, and civil action for repossession may be taken by landowners.
In addition, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires local authorities and the police to develop Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships, comprising the police, local authority, probation, health and other local agencies, which work in partnership to identify and resolve issues of crime and disorder in their area and to work to reduce it. These partnerships are relevant where criminal activity or disorder arise from unauthorised encampments.
The Home Office and DETR are currently holding a number of regional seminars to encourage the police and local authorities to work effectively together to deal with the problems that can be caused by unauthorised encampments.