Source · Select Committees · Human Rights (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 14
14
Acknowledged
This is the third piece of primary legislation changing the law on public order on...
Conclusion
This is the third piece of primary legislation changing the law on public order on which the JCHR has reported in less than five years. Given the importance of free expression and free assembly to a healthy democracy, the Joint Committee on Human Rights is concerned by the volume of recent change to the law on protest. (Conclusion, Paragraph 98)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledged the committee's concern regarding the volume of legislative changes to protest law, but defended the changes as essential responses to evolving protest tactics, aiming to balance protest rights with public order.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government agrees that the right to free expression and free assembly are vital to a healthy democracy. The Government acknowledges the Committee’s concern but considers that recent legislative changes have been essential to address evolving protest tactics causing significant disruption to vital services and threatening public safety. New measures respond directly to operational gaps identified by law enforcement agencies, and to better balance the rights of protesters against the rights of others to go about their daily business without disruption or alarm. As with any primary legislation, they have been subject to full parliamentary scrutiny. While the right to protest remains a cornerstone of our democracy, the legal framework must evolve to ensure that this right does not come at the expense of public order and the rights of others. The Government will continue to review public order legislation to maintain this balance responsibly and proportionately. The police are often required to balance rights of others who may be impacted by protests, and the Government is committed to providing the police the powers to facilitate this. In doing so, the police exercise their powers to restrict a protest where it is considered proportionate, in accordance with the law and in pursuit of a “legitimate aim”. The police are expected to exercise their professional judgement, informed by operational experience, in the use of these powers.