Anti-social behaviour remedies – an overview

Constituents often bring concerns about anti-social behaviour to the attention of Members of Parliament. There is a very wide range of powers and tools available to tackle such problems. This note outlines some of them.

The previous Government made a large amount of information available online to assist people with problems in this area. In particular, in May 2008, the Home Office produced Anti-social behaviour tools and powers: a guide, which gave information on a range of remedies, and in March 2010 it produced information packs specifically for local councillors and for MPs. Whilst this information is still available on the archived versions of the Home Office, it has not been updated. Also in March 2010, the Department for Communities and Local Government produced Tackling anti-social behaviour:Tools and powers – toolkit for social landlords which gives detailed information about the powers available for social landlords.

The present Government has recently issued a White Paper promising draft legislation to replace 19 of the powers to just six. These proposals are the subject of a separate standard note, Library Standard Note 6344, Anti-social Behaviour: The Government’s Proposals.

This note provides only a brief overview of the subject, together with suggested sources. Further information on policy, together with more detailed, specialised notes about particular remedies can be found on the Anti-social Behaviour topic page of the Parliament website.