2023 No. 502 (C. 26)

Public Order

The Public Order Act 2023 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2023

Made

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the power conferred by section 35(5) of the Public Order Act 20231.

Citation and extent1

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Public Order Act 2023 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2023.

2

These Regulations extend to England and Wales only, subject as follows.

3

Regulation 2(e) extends to England and Wales and Scotland.

Commencement2

The following provisions of the Public Order Act 2023 come into force on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made—

a

section 1 (offence of locking on);

b

section 2 (offence of being equipped for locking on);

c

section 7 (interference with use or operation of key national infrastructure), to the extent not already in force;

d

section 8 (key national infrastructure);

e

section 15 (processions, assemblies and one-person protests: delegation of functions);

f

section 34 (meaning of serious disruption).

Chris PhilpMinister of StateHome Office
EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations bring into force provisions of the Public Order Act 2023 (c. 15) (“the Act”). They are the first commencement regulations to be made under the Act.

Regulation 2 brings into force sections 1, 2, 7, 8, 15 and 34 of the Act.

Section 1 creates a new criminal offence of “locking on”, which a person commits if they attach themselves or a person to another person, to an object or to land, or if they attach an object to another object or to land, and that act is capable of causing serious disruption. Section 2 creates a new criminal offence of “being equipped for locking on”, which a person commits if they have an object with them with the intention that it is used in the course of or in connection with the commission by any person of the offence of locking on.

Section 7 creates a new offence of interference with the use or operation of key national infrastructure, which includes road, rail and air transport infrastructure, oil, gas and electricity infrastructure and newspaper printing infrastructure. Section 8 makes further provision about the kinds of infrastructure listed in section 7.

Section 15 of the Act makes amendments to section 15 of the Public Order Act 1986 (c. 64) in order to amend the chief officer of police’s delegation powers under that Act in relation to London police forces, in order to bring parity to London police forces with those outside London.

Section 34 provides for the meaning of “serious disruption” for the purposes of the Act, which is necessary for the functioning of sections 1 and 2 being commenced by these Regulations.