SQUATTING

That this House notes that just six months have passed since the offence of squatting in a residential building came into force; recalls that it was claimed that such an offence was necessary as the law did not support police acting when squatters were in someone's home and that no powers existed to throw them out; further notes that the organisation Squatters' Action for Secure Homes (SQUASH) has published an analysis of how the law has been used and presented it at a meeting in the House on 4 March 2013; is concerned by its finding that none of the 33 arrests known to have taken place to date have involved squatters displacing people from their homes and have in fact taken place in empty properties; believes that the offence is neither necessary to protect homeowners nor is it being used for that purpose; and therefore calls on the Government to bring forward legislative proposals for the repeal of section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.