Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103561 on Anti-social Behaviour, what steps her Department is taking to tackle barriers faced by county councils in using (a) closure notices and (b) closure orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 in areas where district councils exist.

Referring to the response to question 103561, county councils may already issue a closure notice and apply directly for closure orders in England and Wales providing that there is no district council in the area. Where there is a district council in the area, the county council would be expected to work with the relevant district council to issue the closure notice. Closure orders are made by Magistrates courts, not local councils.

We are taking steps, through the Crime and Policing Bill, to enhance the closure power. We are extending the timeframe that relevant agencies can apply to a magistrates’ court for a closure order from 48 hours after service of a closure notice to 72 hours. This will give agencies more time to progress an application for a closure order, protecting the victim and community in the interim while a closure order is sought.

We are also extending the power to issue closure notices to registered social housing providers. Currently only local authorities and police can issue closure notices. This is despite registered social housing providers often being the first agency to be aware of the ASB in question. Extending this power to social housing providers helps ensure that the right agencies have the right tools to tackle ASB quickly and effectively, saving police and local authorities time as housing providers will be able to make applications directly.