VICTORY!
The Reform Clause 1 campaign succeeded in its aim to amend Clause 1. The change is now incorporated in Section 1 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 and came into force in October 2014.
GOVERNMENT CONCEDES DEFEAT ON CLAUSE 1
January 24, 2014The Government has published an amendment accepting the thrust of Lord Dear’s amendment to reform Clause 1.
The amendment will stop police applying for ‘annoyance orders’ against any person in any place, as initially proposed by the Government.
The ‘annoyance and nuisance’ threshold will be extended from the area of public housing to private housing.
In every other case however, behaviour must reach a threshold of ‘harrassment, alarm or distress’ before it can be subject to an injunction.
Click here to see the Government’s amendment. The amendment will be passed in the House of Lords on Monday.
The major climb down comes just weeks after the Government suffered a crushing defeat in the House of Lords on 8th January.
Peers voted 306 to 178 for Lord Dear’s amendment – the biggest anti-Government vote on any piece of legislation in this parliament.