Question
My recent Pride in Place survey in Rhyl found that antisocial behaviour such as street drinking and fly-tipping is putting many people off visiting their own town centre. With respect orders coming into force today, what guidance is being given to police to make good use of them against repeat offenders so that people want to visit their own town centre again?
Answer
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I suspect that a lot of similar conversations are happening on Pride in Place boards across England and Wales. In north Wales we have seen an increase of some 60 officers in neighbourhoods since 2015, which will make a very big difference. I have talked to every police force across the country, written to all the chief constables and met all the different agencies that are part of respect orders, and everyone is lined up to do this work. Guidance has been published, and I look forward to seeing the first court cases—hopefully this week.9% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (62/100)
The reply directly addresses the question: it confirms that guidance has been published, that the minister has written to all chief constables, and that forces and the relevant agencies have been engaged. It does not, however, set out what the guidance actually says, so the asker learns how it is being communicated but not its substance. A member of the public may therefore need to ask a follow-up to get the specific content they were looking for.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What guidance is being given to police on making use of the new respect orders against repeat offenders? | Addressed | Direct | The reply states that guidance has been published (seq 9) and that the minister has written to all chief constables (seq 6) and engaged every force and the agencies involved in respect orders (seqs 5, 7), which together describe the guidance and how it is being communicated to police. It does not summarise the guidance's contents, so the answer is concrete about the mechanism but thin on substance. |