Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what powers are in place to prevent the development of unauthorised encampments.

The Government is clear that unauthorised encampments cause harm to the local environment and that the rights of settled residents must be respected. Local authorities have powers available to them to prevent the development of unauthorised encampments in their area.

Councils can apply to the Courts for pre-emptive injunctions which prevent unauthorised camping in a defined geographical area. Councils are also able to take early and decisive action by issuing Temporary Stop Notices against unauthorised development and encampments. Councils can issue such a notice on both private and public sector land.

On 5 November 2019, the Government launched a consultation seeking views on measures to strengthen police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments. The consultation closed on the 5 March. We will announce the outcome of this consultation in due course.