Grogan in fresh push for exclusion orders
by John Harrington
All Party Parliamentary Beer Group chairman John Grogan has vowed to make "one last bash" in this Parliament to encourage the Government to push for greater use of exclusion orders, which keep troublemakers out of pubs.
Grogan wants it to be compulsory for magistrates to consider using exclusion orders in cases of violence, particularly in pubs and clubs. He said this would be preferable to issuing anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), which are increasingly popular.
Last year the MP for Selby tried to hold meetings about exclusion orders with top ministers but was passed from department to department because there was uncertainty about who was in charge of the issue.
Grogan said he hopes to arrange a meeting soon with Home Office minister Hazel Blears about exclusion orders.
"I'm going to have one last bash in this Parliament to tryto convince the Governmentto encourage magistrates to make more use of these orders," he said.
"One thing promised in the licensing reform White Paper was that when there is a crime of violence, it would be mandatory for magistrates to consider imposing orders. It's simple, cheap and something that is supported by the trade union and also by pub companies. I've never really understood the reluctance to promote them more."
He added that ASBOs are "very good" but "not a substitute for exclusion orders".
"If they exclude someone from a licensed premises in town [by use of an exclusion order]it will destroy their social life. It's an obvious step for the Government to take if they are going to deal with alcohol-related violence."
Grogan has the backing of the National Pubwatch and the Transport & General Workers Union, who are due to meet today to discuss their approach and then report back to the MP.
National Pubwatch honorary secretary Malcolm Eidmans said: "We are asking that [the exclusion order issue] is higher up the agenda. We want [the Government] to make it compulsory for courts to consider it.
"There's more emphasis in the Home Office on fixed penalty notices. The guarantee of a penalty that protects pubs for the future is being ignored."
