Clause 16 - Proceedings for possession:
Anti-social Behaviour Bill
6:15 pm
Mr Matthew Green (Ludlow, Liberal Democrat)
Although they apply to different subsections—(1) and (2) respectively—amendments Nos. 148 and 236 could have been doubled up and applied to each part. I am sure that will not stop the Minister responding.
Amendment No. 148 is designed to ensure that all available options for resolving the problem are exhausted. I am sure that in the majority of circumstances an eviction would be sought, which is what is being requested, but what actions may be taken to discourage and prevent the person against whom the order is sought from committing further nuisance or annoyance after eviction?
One of the general complaints made about some aspects of the Bill by outside organisations is that the Bill as a whole deals with the removal of a problem but it does not address prevention or cure. I know that the Bill is not intended to deal with that, but the effect of some of the provisions is merely to move the problem on to someone else. I quote the example of the Dundee project, which dealt with families that had been through a succession of evictions—the problem had been moved on unsuccessfully. When the Dundee project was introduced, those families were successfully rehabilitated and none has been evicted since. The point of the amendment, which could apply as much to subsection (2) and to subsection (1), is to probe the Minister's thoughts on exactly how the Government will deal with the difficulty of moving the problem somewhere else rather than addressing the root causes.
Amendment No. 236 was proposed by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and it, too, could apply to subsections (1) and (2). The Liberal Democrats do not rule out evicting people from their houses as a final sanction, but sometimes particularly young children who are unconnected with the antisocial behaviour become victims of the situation just as much as the neighbours. If there is to be an eviction, we would welcome the court
requiring social services to undertake an assessment under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 where there are children under 18.
Both amendments would enable us to tackle the problem as a whole, rather than simply move the problem on to someone else.