The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 progressed through the Report Stage on 2 March 2026. This Report Stage allows the House of Lords the opportunity to scrutinise the Bill in detail, with a view to proposing any amendments they deem necessary, which are debated and voted on.  

There are several meetings as part of the Report Stage to allow for this meticulous examination of the Bill (currently there are further sessions scheduled with the next to take place today! 

By way of reminder, the key points of the Bill include: 

1. Respect Orders 

Respect Orders will allow police and local authorities to impose restrictions on persistent perpetrators of ASB. One of the key features that distinguishes Respect Orders is that breach constitutes a criminal offence. This allows the Police to arrest someone immediately for non‑compliance. The individual may then face prosecution, fines, or imprisonment depending on the severity. The Respect Orders are designed to be quicker, stronger, and more effective than existing ASB tools; time will tell as to whether this will be the case.  

2.  Closure Orders

Registered Providers will have the power to issue Closure Notices and apply for Closure Orders. The Bill will also extend the timeframe that relevant agencies can apply to a Magistrates’ Court for a closure order from 48 hours after service of a closure notice to 72 hours. This gives more time to progress an application for a closure order, protecting the victim and community in the interim while a closure order is sought. 

3. Cuckooing Offence 

The Bill creates a new offence of cuckooing (or 'controlling another's home for criminal purposes')

The offence will be committed where:

• a perpetrator exercises control over the dwelling of the victim; and
• the perpetrator is controlling the dwelling for the purpose of using the dwelling (whether by himself or any other person) for one or more prescribed offence; and
• the victim doesn’t consent to that control for that purpose.

Essentially, the Bill aims to strengthen tools available to housing providers, local authorities, and police to address: 

• persistent nuisance behaviour,
• exploitation of vulnerable tenants,
• criminal activity within residential blocks or estates; and
• safeguarding obligations for staff. 

For more information

For further information, please get in touch. You can also read our colleague's blog posts on Respect Orders and their key points and the headline changes to the Bill as of 10 March 2025.