Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of (1) the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, and (2) the Public Order Act 2023, on the right to peaceful protest.

The Government published a report in December 2024 on how police forces had used their protest powers under the Police, Crime and Sentencing Act 2022 from June 2022 to March 2024. In that period,10 police forces used the amended Public Order Act powers on 473 protests with 95 percent by the Met and 277 arrests for breaches.

Expedited post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 will begin in May 2025, assessing its enforcement and impact, including arrest numbers.