Member

If this legislation is passed, authorities—including the police, local authorities and registered social housing providers, among others—can apply for a respect order. That means that the people who are closest to the ground in a community, such as a police officer, local council or housing association, can identify when they want to provide some support for the potential victims of anti-social behaviour. The respect order is not a punishment unless breached, as I have said already. It is intended that, upon receiving a respect order, the offender would cease the behaviour and that there would be no further sanctions. Can I measure that for the noble Viscount, Lord Goschen, at this moment? Possibly not, but I hope I can measure it down stream. Provision is made for punishment only where an offender ignores their respect order and continues to cause harassment, alarm or distress.