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44 Prohibition of certain air weapons | |
(1) The Firearms Act 1968 (c. 27) shall be amended as follows. | |
(2) In section 1(3)(b) after “air pistol” insert “which does not fall within section 5(1) | |
and which is”. | |
(3) In section 1 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 (c. 45)— | 5 |
(a) in subsection (4), omit the word “or” at the end of paragraph (a) and | |
after paragraph (b) insert— “; or | |
(c) any air rifle, air gun or air pistol which is not for the time | |
being specified in that subsection but appears to him to | |
be specially dangerous,”, and | 10 |
(b) after subsection (4) insert— | |
“(4A) An order under subsection (4)— | |
(a) may provide for a provision of the principal Act to apply | |
with or without modification or exception in relation to | |
anything added to subsection (1) of section 5 by the | 15 |
order, | |
(b) may impose conditions in respect of any application, | |
modification or exception provided for by the order | |
(which may, in particular, include provision requiring a | |
person to obtain a certificate in accordance with an | 20 |
enactment referred to or applied by the order), | |
(c) may make provision generally or by reference to a | |
particular purpose or circumstance, | |
(d) may confer a function on the Secretary of State or | |
another specified person, and | 25 |
(e) may make transitional, consequential or incidental | |
provision.” | |
Part 7 | |
The environment | |
Noise | 30 |
45 Closure of noisy premises | |
(1) The chief executive officer of the relevant local authority may make a closure | |
order in relation to premises to which this section applies if he reasonably | |
believes that— | |
(a) a public nuisance is being caused by noise coming from the premises, | 35 |
and | |
(b) the closure of the premises is necessary to prevent that nuisance. | |
(2) This section applies to premises if— | |
(a) a premises licence has effect in respect of them, or | |
(b) a temporary event notice has effect in respect of them. | 40 |
(3) In this section “closure order” means an order which requires specified | |
premises to be kept closed during a specified period which— | |
(a) does not exceed 24 hours, and | |
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(b) begins when a manager of the premises receives written notice of the | |
order. | |
(4) A person commits an offence if without reasonable excuse he permits premises | |
to be open in contravention of a closure order. | |
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary | 5 |
conviction to— | |
(a) imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, | |
(b) a fine not exceeding £20,000, or | |
(c) both. | |
46 Closure of noisy premises: supplemental | 10 |
(1) Where a closure order is made in relation to premises, the chief executive | |
officer of the relevant local authority— | |
(a) may cancel the closure order by notice in writing to a manager of the | |
premises, | |
(b) shall cancel the order as soon as is reasonably practicable if he believes | 15 |
that it is no longer necessary in order to prevent a public nuisance being | |
caused by noise coming from the premises, and | |
(c) shall give notice of the order as soon as is reasonably practicable to the | |
licensing authority for the area in which the premises are situated. | |
(2) The chief executive officer of a local authority may authorise an environmental | 20 |
health officer of the authority to exercise a power or duty of the chief executive | |
officer under section 45(1) or under subsection (1) above; and— | |
(a) authority under this subsection may be general or specific, and | |
(b) a reference in section 45(1) or subsection (1) above to a belief of the chief | |
executive officer includes a reference to a belief of a person authorised | 25 |
under this subsection. | |
(3) In section 45 and this section— | |
“chief executive officer” of an authority means the head of the paid service | |
of the authority designated under section 4 of the Local Government | |
and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42), | 30 |
“environmental health officer” of an authority means an officer | |
authorised by the authority for the purpose of exercising a statutory | |
function in relation to pollution of the environment or harm to human | |
health, | |
“licensing authority” has the same meaning as in the Licensing Act 2003, | 35 |
“manager” in relation to premises means— | |
(a) a person who holds a premises licence in respect of the | |
premises, | |
(b) a designated premises supervisor under a premises licence in | |
respect of the premises, | 40 |
(c) the premises user in relation to a temporary event notice which | |
has effect in respect of the premises, and | |
(d) any other person who works at the premises in a capacity (paid | |
or unpaid) which enables him to close them, | |
“premises licence” has the same meaning as in the Licensing Act 2003, | 45 |
“relevant local authority” in relation to premises means an authority | |
which has statutory functions, for the area in which the premises are | |
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situated, in relation to minimising or preventing the risk of pollution of | |
the environment or of harm to human health, and | |
“temporary event notice” has the same meaning as in the Licensing Act | |
2003 (and is to be treated as having effect in accordance with section | |
170(6) of that Act). | 5 |
47 Dealing with noise at night | |
(1) The Noise Act 1996 (c. 37) is amended as follows. | |
(2) For section 1 (sections 2 to 9 only apply to area of local authority if authority | |
have so resolved or an order by Secretary of State so provides) substitute— | |
“1 Application of sections 2 to 9 | 10 |
Sections 2 to 9 apply to the area of every local authority in England and | |
Wales.” | |
(3) For section 2(1) (local authority under duty to investigate complaint of noise | |
from dwelling at night) substitute— | |
“(1) A local authority in England and Wales may, if they receive a complaint | 15 |
of the kind mentioned in subsection (2), arrange for an officer of the | |
authority to take reasonable steps to investigate the complaint.” | |
(4) In section 2(7) (power of local authority to act in relation to dwelling within | |
area of other authority) omit the words from “and accordingly” to the end. | |
Graffiti and fly-posting | 20 |
48 Penalty notices in respect of graffiti or fly-posting | |
(1) Where an authorised officer of a local authority has reason to believe that a | |
person has committed a relevant offence in the area of that authority, he may | |
give that person a notice offering him the opportunity of discharging any | |
liability to conviction for that offence by payment of a penalty in accordance | 25 |
with the notice. | |
(2) But an authorised officer may not give a notice under subsection (1) if he | |
considers that the commission of the offence— | |
(a) in the case of a relevant offence falling within section 49(1)(c), also | |
involves the commission of an offence under section 30 of the Crime | 30 |
and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37), or | |
(b) in the case of any other relevant offence, was motivated (wholly or | |
partly) by hostility— | |
(i) towards a person based upon his membership (or presumed | |
membership) of a racial or religious group, or | 35 |
(ii) towards members of a racial or religious group based on their | |
membership of that group. | |
(3) Where a person is given a notice under subsection (1) in respect of an offence— | |
(a) no proceedings may be instituted for that offence (or any other relevant | |
offence arising out of the same circumstances) before the expiration of | 40 |
the period of fourteen days following the date of the notice, and | |
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(b) he may not be convicted of that offence (or any other relevant offence | |
arising out of the same circumstances) if before the expiration of that | |
period he pays the penalty in accordance with the notice. | |
(4) A notice under subsection (1) must give such particulars of the circumstances | |
alleged to constitute the offence as are necessary for giving reasonable | 5 |
information of the offence. | |
(5) A notice under subsection (1) must also state— | |
(a) the period during which, by virtue of subsection (3), proceedings will | |
not be instituted for the offence, | |
(b) the amount of the penalty, and | 10 |
(c) the person to whom and the address at which the penalty may be paid. | |
(6) Without prejudice to payment by any other method, payment of a penalty in | |
pursuance of a notice under subsection (1) may be made by pre-paying and | |
posting a letter containing the amount of the penalty (in cash or otherwise) to | |
the person mentioned in subsection (5)(c) at the address so mentioned. | 15 |
(7) Where a letter is sent in accordance with subsection (6) payment is to be | |
regarded as having been made at the time at which that letter would be | |
delivered in the ordinary course of post. | |
(8) A notice under subsection (1) must be in such form as the appropriate person | |
may by order prescribe. | 20 |
(9) Subject to subsection (10), the penalty payable in pursuance of a notice under | |
subsection (1) is £50. | |
(10) The appropriate person may by order substitute a different amount for the | |
amount for the time being specified in subsection (9). | |
49 Meaning of relevant offence | 25 |
(1) “Relevant offence” means— | |
(a) an offence under paragraph 10 of section 54 of the Metropolitan Police | |
Act 1839 (c. 47) (affixing posters etc), | |
(b) an offence under section 20(1) of the London County Council (General | |
Powers) Act 1954 (defacement of streets with slogans etc), | 30 |
(c) an offence under section 1(1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971 (c. 48) | |
(damaging property etc) which involves only the painting or writing | |
on, or the soiling, marking or other defacing of, any property by | |
whatever means, | |
(d) an offence under section 131(2) of the Highways Act 1980 (c. 66) | 35 |
(including that provision as applied by section 27(6) of the Countryside | |
Act 1968 (c. 41)) which involves only an act of obliteration, | |
(e) an offence under section 132(1) of the Highways Act 1980 (painting or | |
affixing things on structures on the highway etc). | |
(2) This section has effect for the purposes of the interpretation of section 48. | 40 |
50 Penalty receipts | |
(1) Penalties which are payable in pursuance of notices under section 48(1) are | |
payable to local authorities. | |
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(2) In any proceedings a certificate which— | |
(a) purports to be signed by or on behalf of the person responsible for the | |
financial affairs of a local authority, and | |
(b) states that payment of a penalty payable in pursuance of a notice under | |
section 48(1) was or was not received by a date specified in the | 5 |
certificate, | |
is evidence of the facts stated. | |
(3) A local authority must pay to the appropriate person any sums it receives in | |
respect of penalties payable to it in pursuance of notices under section 48(1). | |
51 Powers of police civilians | 10 |
(1) In paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to the Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30) (powers of | |
community support officers to issue fixed penalty notices)— | |
(a) at the end of sub-paragraph (2)(c) omit “and”, and | |
(b) after that sub-paragraph insert— | |
“(ca) the power of an authorised officer of a local authority | 15 |
to give a notice under section 48(1) of the Anti-social | |
Behaviour Act 2003 (penalty notices in respect of | |
graffiti or fly-posting); and”. | |
(2) In paragraph 1 of Schedule 5 to that Act (powers of accredited persons to issue | |
fixed penalty notices)— | 20 |
(a) at the end of sub-paragraph (2)(b) omit “and”, and | |
(b) after that sub-paragraph insert— | |
“(ba) the power of an authorised officer of a local authority | |
to give a notice under section 48(1) of the Anti-social | |
Behaviour Act 2003 (penalty notices in respect of | 25 |
graffiti or fly-posting); and”. | |
52 Interpretation | |
(1) In this section and sections 48 and 50— | |
“appropriate person” means— | |
(a) in relation to England, the Secretary of State, and | 30 |
(b) in relation to Wales, the National Assembly for Wales, | |
“authorised officer” means an officer of a local authority who is | |
authorised in writing by the authority for the purpose of giving notices | |
under section 48(1), | |
“local authority” means an authority in England and Wales which is a | 35 |
litter authority for the purposes of section 88 of the Environmental | |
Protection Act 1990 (c. 43), | |
“racial group” and “religious group” have the meanings given by section | |
28(4) and (5) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (c. 37). | |
(2) Section 28(2) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 is to apply for the purposes | 40 |
of section 48(2)(b)(i) as it applies for the purposes of section 28(1)(a) of that Act. | |
(3) The appropriate person may issue guidance— | |
(a) about the exercise of the discretion to give notices under section 48(1), | |
and | |
(b) about the giving of such notices. | 45 |
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