A campaign group has revealed the scale and range of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) in force across England and Wales, finding that councils have introduced more than 1,200 such orders covering a wide variety of restrictions.
Freedom of Information requests issued by the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life (CFEL) to 319 councils, of which 297 responded, identified a total of 1,268 PSPOs currently in place.
The group said individual orders often contained multiple conditions, with some including up to 30 separate restrictions.
It also called for reforms to the system, after raising concerns that the only avenue for appealing a PSPO is via costly court proceedings.
A PSPO is a council-implemented order under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 designed to stop anti-social behaviour in a specific public area.
Alcohol restrictions were the most common, with 171 councils implementing PSPOs banning alcohol consumption.
Dog control came second at 130 councils, and begging third with 59 councils.
There were also a number of councils (15%) with bans on playing music or the radio in public, as well as bans on loitering (13.5%).
Thirty councils restricted congregating in groups, 20 councils banned amplification, 13 councils banned feeding the birds, and 11 councils restricted face coverings.
CFEL also drew attention to PSPOs that restrict speech, noting that 61 councils have implemented orders imposing at least one restriction on expression.
This includes PSPOs on foul or offensive language, swearing, shouting or screaming, verbal abuse, sexual comments or language, sexual or offensive gestures, or language causing harassment, alarm or distress.
In a blog post detailing the results, CFEL called for PSPO powers to be reformed, “to ensure that they are subject to democratic scrutiny in full council and with easily accessible rights of appeal (currently the only appeal is through the High Court, which is extremely expensive)”.
“Reform is necessary to ensure that PSPOs are used proportionately and only in cases of serious anti-social behaviour, as required by Statutory Guidance,” it added.
The group argued that PSPOs target “everyday activities” which do not cause harm to others, while also targeting pro-social behaviour such as busking in some cases.
It also claimed that some PSPOs create “extremely broad” offences, handing too much power to council officers.
The group added: “This research shows that the use of ‘anti-social behaviour’ powers is not in practice being used to target serious anti-social behaviour. In many cases, these laws target actions associated with poverty or homelessness (as with bans on loitering, begging or rough sleeping).
“In other cases, they target ordinary everyday actions; or even pro-social behaviour, such as busking or campaigning, which are seeking to connect with (and bring enjoyment to) fellow residents.”
Adam Carey
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