§ Mr. Hilary BennTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if powers are currently available to local authorities to enable them to 9W prevent repeated incursions on a particular piece of land by the same group of travellers without having to go back to the courts on each occasion; and if he will make a statement. [96711]
§ Mr. MullinSection 77(3) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 makes it a criminal offence for a person who has been directed by a local authority to leave land where he is camped without permission, and to return to the same land with a vehicle within three months of the date of the direction. Persons committing an offence under section 77 are liable to a maximum fine of £1.000.
In proceedings for an offence under this section, it is a defence for the accused to show that his re-entry to the land with a vehicle was due to illness, mechanical breakdown, or other emergency.
We have no plans to remove the requirement in the 1994 Act for local authorities to obtain a court order before eviction can take place.