Local Authorities (Contracting out of Anti-social Behaviour Order Functions) (England) Order 2007

I thank my noble friend the Minister for her lucid and pithy exposition. I found the remarks from the other side of the Committee helpful and illuminating. My noble friend touched on accountability and proportionality in the powers adumbrated in the order. Can she give me some detail on the safeguards? Have they been properly considered? How meaningful were the consultations? How widespread were they? It would be helpful for the Committee to have some detail. We still hear of youth nuisance and worse on large estates and council estates—I do not know whether we can refer to estates as social housing. However, my noble friend knows what I am saying. When this order was put together, what consideration was given to, and how do the Government assess, the success rate or otherwise of ASBOs as a policy? What is the Government’s thinking on ASBOs as they touch on the order under discussion? Reference was made to magistrates’ courts. Do we have any feedback at all on the responses of the magistrates’ courts, which are mentioned in the Explanatory Notes? I presume that magistrates are well briefed on ASBOs and that surely they must consider applications for them. To what extent are magistrates informed by CCTV where ASBOs and their applications are concerned? Again, I am most grateful to my noble friend for her opening remarks.