Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many protests have resulted in (a) restrictions and (b) conditions imposed by the police under the doctrine of cumulative disruption since May 2025.

The Home Office publishes data on police use of conditions under sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, including how many public processions and public assemblies have conditions placed on them, the triggers for the conditions, and the type of condition. The latest published data is to March 2024 Home Office – Police protest powers, June 2022 to March 2024, England and Wales – December 2024, and the next release of data is provisionally scheduled for 5 February 2026.

Forces routinely publish where they apply conditions on demonstrations under Sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 via their websites and social media.

Decisions on how to police demonstrations are an operational matter for the police, working within the legal framework of the Public Order Act 1986.  Under sections 12 and 14 the police can place conditions on demonstrations to manage risks of serious public disorder, serious disruption to the life of the community or serious damage to property. Police can currently take cumulative disruption into account when considering placing conditions on a protest under the 1986 Act.

Through the Crime and Policing Bill we are amending sections 12 and 14 of the 1986 Act to introduce a duty for senior police officers to take cumulative disruption into account when assessing whether the serious disruption to the life of the community threshold is met. This provision will help protect communities from repeated disruption caused by protests and is an important step in ensuring everyone feels safe in this country, while protecting the right to peaceful protest.