The Public Order Bill is
currently being debated in Public Bill Committee. As part of
scrutiny, the group is now inviting those with an interest to
submit their views in writing to the House of Commons Public Bill
Committee which is going to consider this Bill.
A Public Bill Committee is a committee set up by the House of
Commons to examine the details of a particular Bill. You can find
out more about them on the website here.
The first sitting of the Public Bill Committee is expected to be
on Thursday 9 June 2022. They will scrutinise the Bill line by
line before reporting back by Tuesday 21 June 2022.
When the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is
no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude
earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Tuesday 21 June.
Aims of the Bill
The Bill would bring in three major changes to the way protests
are policed in England and Wales:
-
Expanding protest related offences: the
Bill would introduce four new criminal offences related to
disruptive protest including “locking-on”; being equipped to
“lock-on”; obstructing major transport works; and interfering
with key national infrastructure.
-
Extending police stop and search
powers: the Bill would provide the police with
new powers to stop and search people for items related to
specified protest-related offences.
-
Introducing a new preventative court
order: the Bill would create Serious Disruption
Prevention Orders aimed at people who repeatedly engage in
disruptive protest activity. The orders would be issued with
conditions to prevent individuals from being in particular
places or with particular people or from participating in
certain activities.
Follow the progress of the Public
Order Bill
The Public Order
Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 11 May
2022. Second reading was held on 23 May 2022. Oral evidence
sessions are expected to be held on 9 June 2022.
Guidance on submitting written evidence
What should written evidence cover?
The evidence should cover matters contained within the Bill and
concentrate on issues where the individual submitting evidence
has a special interest or expertise.
Evidence submissions could most usefully:
- suggest amendments to the Bill, with supporting explanation;
and
- (when amendments are
published) support or oppose amendments tabled to the Bill by
Members of Parliament, with supporting explanation
It is helpful if the submission includes a brief introduction
about the author or organisation. The submission should not have
been previously published or circulated elsewhere.
How should written evidence be
submitted?
Submissions should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk. They
should be in the form of a Word document. Please include in the
covering email the name, address, telephone number and email
address of the person responsible for the submission. The
submission should be dated.
Further guidance on submitting written evidence can be
found here.
