Clause 29 - Dispersal of groups and removal of persons under 16 to their place of residence
Anti-social Behaviour Bill
3:30 pm
Mrs Liz Blackman (Erewash, Labour)
May I draw the hon. Gentleman's attention to subsection (1) which states:
''where a relevant officer has reasonable grounds for believing''
this or that. The relevant officer is a superintendent or above and he will make the judgment about an area with a history of antisocial behaviour. Does the hon. Gentleman honestly believe that a relevant officer will decide on dispersal because a group of old people drawing their pensions in a post office are put off by a group of youngsters outside? The decision will be made carefully, based on reasonable grounds. The hon. Gentleman is taking the words out of context.