Prospective Conservative MP, Rebecca Pow, is welcoming news that a three month closure order has been secured on Taunton shop Hush putting paid to its sale of legal highs. The closure was enabled using new anti-social behaviour legislation introduced in October which Rebecca has campaigned for, by working with the local police and action group and also by making representation to the Home Secretary, Theresa May. This is believed to be the first time a closure order of this nature has been won through the courts anywhere in the country since the legislation was introduced.
‘The closure was brought about on the grounds of the nuisance and disorder the sale of so-called legal highs has caused in the town. The police did a tremendous job collating a huge quantity of evidence to make this case and I am so pleased it has paid off. It will make our streets and parks safer for us all and especially for children.
This action coincides with a response from the Home Office, to the letter I presented to Home Secretary, Theresa May recently on behalf of the people of Taunton and Wellington which raised the legal high issue in both of these towns and called for support. The response confirms the government’s commitment to this issue, stating that they will continue to reduce the threat posed by the trade in new psychoactive substances in local communities and protect the public from drug harms. It is thanks to the new legislation introduced by Theresa May that Hush has been shut down and I have a further commitment that work is underway across government to implement the recommendations of the independent panel which completed its work on October 30th. This includes the development and testing of new legislation to ban the supply of new psychoactive substances, similar to the approach adopted in other countries, in the UK context.’
In addition in direct response to the review, a new toolkit was published by Public Health England on new psychoactive substances for local authorities to use to inform their response to community issues related to new psychoactive substances, and Home Office guidance to local organisations, law enforcement and health authorities, on ’legal highs’ has been updated.
The new powers that have enabled the closure of Hush are the Community Protection Notice and the Public Spaces Protection Order. The former can be issued by the police and local councils to individuals over 16, a business or an organisation, if the issuing agency is satisfied on reasonable grounds that their conduct is having a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality, is persistent or continuing in nature and is unreasonable. The Public Spaces Protection Order is designed to stop individuals or groups committing anti-social behaviour in a public space and allows councils to make an order imposing conditions on the use of that area which apply to everyone or to particular categories of people.
