Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks of Baroness Williams of Trafford on 12 December 2016 (HL Deb, col 1021), what progress they have made in giving consideration to including additional offences in Chapter 4 of Part 5 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and which specific offences they have identified as appropriate for inclusion.
Answer
The provisions enabling the Secretary of State to extend, by regulations, the list of offences eligible for a disregard under the provisions of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, will come into force two months after the Policing and Crime Bill received Royal Assent. This happened on 31 January 2017. The Government will work with stakeholders to identify what offences might be appropriately added to that list.