Clause 2 - Closure order
Anti-social Behaviour Bill
5:15 pm
Mr Bob Ainsworth (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Home Office; Coventry North East, Labour)
The hon. Member for Surrey Heath will be pleased to hear that I, too, found his words quite seductive.
One of the essential elements of the power is its speed in tackling the serious problem of premises that cause serious nuisance and disruption to communities. It is essential that a closure notice be endorsed by a court at the earliest opportunity.
The 48-hour period between the issuing of a closure notice and its consideration by a magistrates court has been chosen to allow for all reasonable delays. Consideration has been given to likely delays caused by Sundays, bank holidays and other public holidays, and we are clear that the courts have the capacity to consider the cases within that time. Delay would result
in an inability to provide the community with instant relief from antisocial behaviour, which is why I am not enamoured of the lead amendment.