Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to extend stop and search powers to help the police tackle protestors who are seeking to cause serious disruption.

The Public Order Act 2023, which received Royal Assent on 2^nd May 2023 has introduced new suspicion-led and suspicion-less stop and search powers to help police to deal with disruptive protestors.

When commenced, these new stop and search powers will enable the police to proactively tackle highly disruptive protest offences by searching for and seizing items which are made, adapted or intended to be used in connection with protest-related offences.

In their 2021 report on the policing of protests, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services agreed that such powers would have an operational benefit to police.