Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many local authority closure orders were issued against high street retailers operating illicit trade in the East Midlands during the 2025-26 financial year.

The Home Office does not hold centrally verified data on the number of closure orders issued against high street retailers operating illicit trade in the East Midlands during the 2025-26 financial year.

Closure orders are local powers under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, and decisions on their use are made by local agencies and the courts according to the circumstances of each case.

As part of our wider work to strengthen the response to anti-social behaviour, the Crime and Policing Act introduces a mandatory anti-social behaviour data reporting duty. This will support more consistent national data collection on the use of anti-social behaviour powers and improve transparency and accountability across local agencies.