Violent Crime Reduction Bill

My Lords, I hope that I can reassure the noble Lord and I shall take a little time dealing with his amendment for that very purpose. The amendment would introduce further safeguards to the process of making a drinking banning order. It would mean that any court considering making an order must first receive a report from an appropriate person on the subject’s mental and physical health and on whether he or she has any substance addictions. As the noble Lord said, we have discussed this amendment before, and I assure the House that the Government understand the terms in which it has been tabled. We have also considered the matter further, as I said we would and as the noble Lord alluded to, but we concluded that an amendment was unnecessary, and I shall expand on why we believe that to be the case. There are two main routes for seeking a drinking banning order. The first is on application to the magistrates’ court. Prior to making such an application, there is a statutory consultation phase. The police would need to consult the local authority, or vice versa, depending on which authority was intending to seek a drinking banning order. It should be at that stage that an individual’s vulnerability is considered—that is, before an application is made. If the individual is considered to be vulnerable, such as suffering from alcohol addiction or mental health problems, an assessment can be made of his or her circumstances. I have previously mentioned to the House that local authorities have a duty to do that under the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. Where appropriate, the necessary alternative support should therefore be provided under the duty of that Act. Therefore, for drinking banning orders made on application, it is unlikely that an order will be sought for someone suffering from alcohol addiction or mental health problems. In our view, such issues should be identified at an early stage prior to making any application. Where the court has concerns that a drinking banning order may not be appropriate due to an individual’s vulnerability, it can of course decide against an order or seek a report of its own volition. The second main route where an individual could be subject to an order is on conviction in criminal proceedings. In such cases, the individual is before the court for a criminal offence. The individual’s vulnerability—if the court needs to consider that as an issue—is likely to have been considered in relation to the main offence. It is open to the court to seek a report on its own volition in that respect. In that case, such a report could be a factor in the consideration of a drinking banning order, which would be post-conviction. Therefore, again in this respect, the amendment is unnecessary. The noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford, asked in Committee, on 26 April at col. 165 of the Official Report, whether it is intended that drinking banning orders will be applied to rough sleepers who are alcohol dependent or drug dependent. I think my earlier points cover that issue. However, with respect to individuals who are dependent on drugs, I can tell noble Lords that drugs do not come within the conditions that have to be reached to apply for a drinking banning order. Those conditions, as set out in the Bill, are that the individual has engaged in criminal or disorderly conduct while under the influence of alcohol and that an order is necessary to protect others from further conduct by him of that kind while he is under the influence of drink. So we do not foresee an application being made for a drinking banning order where the individual is solely under the influence of drugs. With regard to rough sleepers who are alcohol dependent, drinking banning orders are unlikely to be suitable for someone who has an alcohol addiction problem and this should be identified at an early stage, as I made clear earlier. However, with regard to rough sleepers, noble Lords will want to be aware that in 2003 local authorities were required to develop and put in place homelessness strategies. Under those, they were obliged to take into consideration the needs of rough sleepers within their area. That involved ensuring that appropriate provision is available and encouraging strategic partnership working with other statutory agencies such as healthcare providers, drug treatment agencies, social services and the police, as well as voluntary agencies that work within the sector. Moreover, the increasing involvement of the police in town centre management and rough-sleeping programmes has led to closer co-operation between them and homelessness agencies. We would expect rough sleepers to be assisted under existing arrangements rather than being given a drinking banning order unless it was appropriate to do so. Although I cannot give an assurance, as the noble Lord requested in Committee, that guidance will provide that a judge must consider whether a report is necessary and call for it, I can give an assurance, as I have done to date, that these issues will be very carefully mapped out and covered in guidance on drinking banning orders. Those issues will be dealt with very clearly and carefully in guidance so that the courts are well aware of what they need to do when considering such issues. I hope that, having heard that assurance, the noble Lord will be encouraged to withdraw the amendment.