Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the the fine imposed on Adam Smith-Connor in Bournemouth in December 2022; and whether she plans to have a discussion with the Attorney General on a review of the provisions of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 relating to the power to make Public Space Protection Orders in respect of fundamental rights of freedom of thought and religion.

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.