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Written Question
Abortion: Clinics
Wednesday 8th March 2023

Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the (a) proportionality of the balance between freedom of expression and assembly and public order and (b) effectiveness of public spaces protection orders around abortion clinics.

Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary

Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, local authorities can impose Public Space Protection Orders to stop individuals or groups committing anti-social behaviour in a public space. A local authority may impose a Public Space Protection Order if satisfied on reasonable grounds that activities carried on in a public place have, or are likely to have, a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality.

Public Space Protection Orders have been imposed outside a number of abortion clinics, including in Ealing, Richmond, Manchester, Birmingham and Bournemouth.

Decisions regarding what restrictions are imposed are matters for local authorities, which are required to act compatibly with the European Convention on Human Rights. This includes the balancing of Articles 9, 10 and 11 with Article 8 rights. The enforcement of PSPOs is a matter for local authorities and the police.

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Edward Leigh - View Speech

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Edward Leigh - View Speech

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