Purpose

1. The current City Centre PSPO was originally
introduced on 7th November 2020, as part of a broader package of
measures to support people who are homeless and rough sleeping and
to improve SYP and Doncaster Council powers to deal with issues
causing concern at that time. The PSPO was renewed in 2020 and
expires on 6th November 2023. Any renewal would require a lead in
period for consultation, and so it is prudent to begin engagement
with members and the public at this stage to enable advance
planning with partners for the renewal and consultation process to
take place.
2. A copy of the current prohibitions included in the PSPO and a
plan showing the area covered by the prohibitions is included as
Appendix 1. These were strongly supported in the 2020 public
consultation. Care was taken to stress that the approach to
implementation would take a ‘support first’ approach,
using the PSPO as a lever to support people to engage with
services.
Cabinet supported the PSPO on this basis, despite some adverse
comments from civil liberties organisations during the
consultation.
basis, despite some adverse comments from civil liberties
organisations during the consultation.
3. Since the PSPO implementation, national policy direction
(including the national Rough Sleepers Strategy) has emphasised the
risks of potentially criminalising homelessness through enforcement
measures. In December 2017 the Home Office issued new Statutory
Guidance about the operation of the powers under the ABCP Act 2014
which specifically referred to the fact that PSPOs should not be
used to target people solely based on the fact that someone is
homeless or rough sleeping. This Statutory guidance was last
updated in March 2023 to include reference to the
Government’s Action Plan to deal with antisocial
behaviour.
4. Discussions at the Silver Locality Group have now established a
dedicated Integrated City Centre management model, which includes a
focus on effective management of anti - social behaviour alongside
SYP, building on successes and learnings from the last three years
of joint operations. The Complex Lives model is more mature, as a
model of outreach, care and support.
See attached Officer Decision Record for further information.

Content

To consult on a variation and extension of the
Public Spaces Protection Order for Doncaster City Centre.