It depends on whether they have been authorised directly by an Act of Parliament or by development consent orders under the Planning Act 2008. I will not pretend to know the detail of that at this point, but I can get the noble Lord the detail, if he would like me to.
Amendment 319F provides for a police officer of the rank of inspector or above to authorise the use of the suspicionless stop and search power. This mirrors the powers currently available to the police under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. As with existing Section 60 powers, this power can apply only in a specific locality and for a maximum of 24 hours, with the option to extend it if deemed necessary by a senior police officer. Amendments 319G to 319J make further provisions in respect of the suspicionless stop and search powers, in line with the existing Section 60 stop and search powers.
Finally, Amendment 319K introduces serious disruption prevention orders, or SDPOs. These new preventive court orders are designed to tackle protesters who are determined to repeatedly cause disruption to the public. There are two circumstances in which they can be made. A court will be able to impose an SDPO on conviction where an individual has been convicted of a protest-related offence and has been convicted of an earlier protest-related offence.
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Alternatively, the court will be able to make an SDPO on application by the police if the court is satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the person has on two or more occasions been convicted of a protest-related offence or been found in contempt of
court for a protest-related breach of an injunction; caused or contributed to a protest-related criminal offence or breach of an injunction; or carried out, or caused or contributed to another person carrying out, protest-related activities that have, or were likely to, result in serious disruption. The courts must consider it necessary to make an SDPO to prevent the person committing, or causing or contributing to, a protest-related offence or breach of injunction, to prevent the person carrying out, or causing or contributing to another person carrying out, protest-related activities that result in, or are likely to result in, serious disruption, or to protect from serious disruption. They will also have discretion as to what prohibitions and requirements will be necessary and proportionate to prevent these acts.
These orders may be imposed only on those aged 18 or over, will last anywhere from one week to two years, and can be renewed or discharged on application to the court. Breaching an order will be a criminal offence, punishable by an unlimited fine, six months imprisonment or both.
This suite of new measures is necessary to protect the public from the unacceptable levels of disruption that we have seen as a result of the reckless and selfish tactics employed by some protest organisations in recent weeks. We stand by the right to protest, but that does not afford a right to cause unlimited disruption to others irrespective of the cost to business, the dangers caused to road users and the police, the risk to life by blocking ambulances and the hardship caused to the public seeking to get to work or going about their daily lives. I therefore commend these amendments to the Committee. I note that the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, has tabled a number of amendments to the government amendments; I will respond to these and any questions on the government amendments once we have heard from other noble Lords. I beg to move.
Amendment 319AA (to Amendment 319A)