The General Election is upon us – what’s happening, what’s not happening and all the other news…
The General Election Is Coming On The 4th July… Here’s the lowdown!
Delays to 16 items of legislation affects our world…
The Renters Reform Bill nor the Criminal Justice Bill were passed to become law before the government disbanded, which is going to prove very interesting if there is a new government elected to see if they want to pursue the same policies…
The Renters Reform Bill aimed to eliminate the Section 21 process for assured shorthold tenancies. This change would have required private landlords to apply to court and provide a valid reason for possession if they wished to evict a tenant.
The Criminal Justice Bill contained controversial provisions regarding nuisance rough sleeping and begging. It also proposed amendments to extend the ASB toolkit, such as allowing closures to housing providers and lowering the age for Community Protection Notices (CPNs) to 10.
Janine’s thoughts: We knew that the calling of a General Election at any time would cause disruption, however for the world of ASB and community safety leaving important legislative measures like the Renters Reform Bill and the Criminal Justice Bill in limbo is significant. The future of these reforms now hinges on the priorities of the new government – and it will be really interesting to see if these are still high on the agenda for the new administration.
Labour Launches “Take Back Our Streets” Policy In Their Manifesto…
Labour’s “Take Back Our Streets” initiative aims to restore security and confidence in the UK’s policing and criminal justice system, which they believe has deteriorated under the Conservatives. The key points that they are promoting in their manifesto are:
- Neighbourhood Policing: Labour plans to recruit 13,000 additional neighbourhood police and PCSOs, funded by cutting wasteful contracts, to ensure every community has a named officer for immediate response.
- Anti-social Behaviour: They propose that they will introduce tougher penalties for anti-social behaviour, including Respect Orders with criminal sanctions, and tackle shoplifting by removing the £200 threshold for investigations.
- Violent Crime and Knife Crime: Labour commits to halving serious violence and knife crime, with a comprehensive action plan addressing both the crimes and their root causes.
- Violence Against Women and Girls: They aim to halve violence against women and girls in a decade by introducing specialist domestic abuse workers and rape investigation units in every police force, and targeting repeat offenders with enhanced tactics.
- Youth Crime Prevention: A ten-year Young Futures programme will establish youth hubs with mental health and youth workers to support young people and prevent knife crime.
- Police and Criminal Justice Reform: Labour plans to rebuild trust by increasing the number of detectives and prosecutors, building promised prisons, and overhauling police vetting and training processes.
Labour’s planned approach focuses on visible policing, stringent measures against repeat offenders, support for victims, and preventive initiatives for youth, aiming to create safer, thriving communities.
The Conservative Policies: Clean Up Your Own Mess, National Service And Long Term Investment Town Plans…
The Conservatives have announced plans to address crime, anti-social behaviour and community safety with a range of measures.
Key points of their manifesto include:
- Long Term Investment Funds: The conservatives propose to set up up new long-term investment funds, providing £20 million over 10 years to each of 55 towns, empowering local communities to decide on spending priorities to revitalise high streets, reduce crime, improve transport, and create jobs through a collaborative Town Board.
- National Service: The party have proposed national service for all 18-year-olds, with teenagers required to either volunteer in their local community or take a full-time role in the armed forces.
- Offenders of vandalism or graffiti will be tasked with cleaning up their own vandalism or graffiti. If this is not possible, they will engage in other community service activities like litter picking or volunteering. Victims and local communities, with the input of police and crime commissioners, will help determine appropriate punishments.
- An expansion of the “Community Payback” scheme, where more serious offenders perform unpaid community work. Last year, 1,500 offenders completed nearly 10,000 hours of community service, with plans to double this effort.
The Lib Dems Launch Their Fair Deal Manifesto With Housing & Crime Key Priorities
The Liberal Democrats have launched their manifesto with the key focus being “A Fair Deal” from an ASB, Housing and Community Safety perspective. Key points relevant to our sector include:
- Restoring proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and focused on preventing and solving crimes – especially rape and other violent crime.
- Building at least 150,000 new council and social homes a year, giving local authorities the powers to end the right to buy in their areas, and requiring them to have a landlord licensing scheme.
- Strengthening rights for renters in the private sector by banning no-fault evictions and making longer tenancies the default, and for social housing tenants by giving them more powers over the management of their homes and estates.
Other Party Key Points
- The Green Party have “Fairer, Greener Homes” as a key priority – they are calling for an immediate freeze on rent increases and a ban on no-fault evictions to protect households.
- The Reform Party announce a “Zero Tolerance Policing Policy” – taking on a New York style approach, they plan to remove alleged bureaucracy in the policing system and introduce more stringent punishments for offenders.
- The SNP would introduce a Community Wealth Building Act for local economies. They also want to introduce an empty homes policy to tackle rent prices and housing availability.
- Plaid Cymru – They plan to implement a rapid rehousing policy to end rough sleeping, ban no-fault evictions and create 50,000 public homes over five years.
In Other News…
- ASB Awareness Week has been delayed to November due to the General Election. We have some really great resources planned for the week. If you would like to collaborate with us then let us know your ideas – contact info@greenandburtonasb.co.uk
- This June is Neighbourhood Watch Week – from the 1st – 7th June the focus is on Local Efforts, Big Impact. Do you have an initiative that you think is of interest to our audience and you would like us to share? Send us your stories and photos – and look out for our new insight next week.
Training For You – Utilise Your Exclusive Discount
Places are still available on our upcoming live online programmes to help upskill your team on different areas of ASB. Upcoming Courses:
- 19th June – DIY Injunctions
- 19th June – Drafting Civil Witness Statements
- 10th July – Customer Service Masterclass
Don’t forget that all of our mailing list benefits from an exclusive 10% discount on all Green & Burton ASB Associates live online programmes: use code NEWSLETTER at the checkout…
What are your reactions to the General Election news and proposals? Hit reply and share your thoughts with us…
Janine & Darren