Anti-social Behaviour Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 6:19 pm on 3 November 2003.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Baroness Hamwee Baroness Hamwee Liberal Democrat 6:19, 3 November 2003

My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing the amendment that deals with the penalty. This was the last point on which I expected the Government to move, particularly as the Minister at the previous stage made some perfectly reasonable points about the Home Office needing to see how this knocked on to other offences. I am delighted to see that the Government have acted.

On obliteration, I take the point about damage to the fabric of equipment, but legislation that allows an offender to obliterate a poster by placing another one on top of it—that is what obliteration means—does not seem to me to be a proper solution. If one allowed 48 hours for removal or obliteration, quite often the event being advertised will have taken place and the poster will have done its job. However, I shall not press those two issues. Enforcement in relation to fly-posting and graffiti needs to be looked at overall. Clearly there are still problems concerned with that.

I welcome Amendment No. 92. It is good to leave money with local authorities for them to spend. When previously we debated this matter I made a point about ring-fencing. I suppose that applies here as well. I hope that there will be enough money for that not to be an issue. I hope that the new penalties will mean that the level of fly-posting will diminish. We shall see.

One point that applies also to Clause 51(3) concerns the language used. That subsection states:

"A local authority may use any sums it receives . . . only for the purposes of functions of its that are qualifying functions".

The word "its" appears uncomfortable there. I would have expected the subsection to read "of it" or possibly "its functions", which would be easier. I do not expect a response to this point unless anyone on the Front Bench feels moved to provide one. I can see the noble Lord, Lord Evans of Temple Guiting, shifting about. I am sure he would express the matter much more elegantly than the rest of us. Such matters can be tidied up at the final stage. If parliamentary counsel and the powers that carry out that kind of tidying up and cross-referencing feel that that is an inelegant way of expressing the point, perhaps they would consider the provisions in Clauses 48 and 51(3). I thank the Government for moving on these issues.