Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour from (a) illegally modified and (b) off-road bikes in the Northumbria Police area.

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.

The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles of all types, including off-road and illegally modified e-bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.

The Government has recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially more quickly. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.

These combined measures will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and will send a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.