Antisocial Behaviour

: The hon. Gentleman draws me into another area of my responsibilities—that of the voluntary sector. I am keen that we develop initiatives such as the Compact, so that we have a proper relationship between public funders and voluntary organisations. We must ensure that there is a dependable source of income so that the contribution that such organisations make can be relied on and people are not always worried about the funding running out. The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. My hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Blackley spoke about north Manchester; I ought to have an opportunity to say that similar things are happening in south Manchester, which is where my constituency is. He is right that this is not having merely a peripheral impact. It is affecting the lives of thousands of people. If one point in our debate grabbed everyone's attention it was my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mrs. Cryer) talking about Jennifer's experience. That is what this is about—the lives of people being either wrecked or changed for the better. I was grateful to my hon. Friend for mentioning that. The hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) and my hon. Friend the Member for Burton mentioned difficulties that are sometimes spoken about—to do with Tourette's or Asperger's syndromes, for example. My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has been concerned about that issue and has paid particular attention to it. If an inappropriate condition is placed within an ASBO it can be reviewed, and if it is inappropriate, it should be reviewed. We should not be surprised if there are one or two difficulties in the early stages of the development of this new order. However, we can learn about those cases and do something about them, and they should not deflect us from the fact that this has been an overwhelming success. We should not be distracted from recognising that. Dealing with antisocial behaviour must be part of a wider strategy of dealing with criminality generally and of managing offenders. Civil powers are increasingly being used as a strong complement to criminal prosecutions. Criminal prosecutions are now not the only way to deal with people who cause mischief, trouble and disorder on our streets; we can use civil powers to recover criminal assets. Even if the level of evidence is not great enough to mount a prosecution, we can use it for civil proceedings, if it is sufficient. We can use antisocial behaviour orders, too. The issue is about having a full tool kit with which to tackle criminality and disorder, so that we can manage such people from end to end of the system, as we often say in the jargon, and prevent them from causing trouble. My hon. Friend the Member for Stockport and others talked about accountability, connection with the community and how we can involve the community more. She talked about crime and disorder reduction partnerships and how they can better engage people. The review of the partnerships is ongoing and deals with many of the issues raised, including accountability, the sharing of data and the streamlining of partnerships, all of which are important. I can tell my right hon. Friend the Chairman of the Select Committee and all its members here that we hope to publish the full assessment of that review very soon—indeed, before the end of this month, I hope. That is another piece of the jigsaw which I am sure will be welcomed by the Committee. My hon. Friend the Member for Stockport made a sensible suggestion about the collection and dissemination of data relating to housing injunctions. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister takes the lead on that matter, of course, but we shall draw her suggestion to colleagues' attention, and I am sure that they will be interested in it. Clearly, alcohol disorder is of concern to us all. The subject has come up in many of the contributions this afternoon. My right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen, welcomed, and has been a keen advocate of, the idea that pubs and clubs should make a financial contribution if a disproportionate amount of disorder is caused in their area. That idea is welcome. Having said that, the scheme is not just about the cash; those pubs and clubs have to get involved in an action plan with local authorities in the area to deal with the problem. That is at least as important as the money raised, because it forces the pubs and clubs to deal with the issue in practice. That is a new power that we hope will make a difference. It is undeniable that alcohol consumption is changing the character of many of our towns and cities, certainly at night, but we should not just dismiss the issue as a problem. People have a legitimate right to go out and enjoy themselves, and it is important to remember that. Also, there are many jobs involved in the night time economy, and that is an important consideration. Clearly, these are massive issues that have to be grasped by local authorities, the people who run transport, the police and so on. The industry, too, has to step up to the plate and meet its responsibilities. I am pleased to say to hon. Members that I think that the industry has begun to engage with its responsibilities in a more constructive way in recent months. I warmly welcome the principles and standards document that the alcohol industry produced. It makes clear to its members the responsible way in which they ought to behave. They should not be selling alcohol to drunks or children. It is not only wrong, but against the law, and they have a responsibility to make sure that they do not do it.