Police: Demonstrations
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 20 December 2024 to Questions 19855 and 19857 on Climate Change: Demonstrations and to Questions 19852 and 19853 on Arms Trade: Israel, Question, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of (a) the policing of protests and (b) trends in the number of (a) arrests and (b) convictions for protest related activities.
Answered by Dame Diana Johnson
The right to peacefully protest is a fundamental part of our democratic society.
We have committed to holding expedited post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 beginning in May 2025. This process will review how the legislation has operated since it came into force. We will carefully consider the outputs of this review.
The full Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 will also be subject to post-legislative scrutiny between April 2025 and April 2027. This will include a review of sections 73, 74 and 79, as well as the other public order measures in the Act.
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