On 21 October 2024, the Secretary of State made The Public Order Act 2023 (Commencement No. 5) (England and Wales) Regulations 2024 which extend to England and Wales; this provides that Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 (offence of interference with access to or provision of abortion services) will come into force on 31 October 2024.

Extracts from Explanatory Note, which is not part of the Regulations, are reproduced below.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations bring into force provisions of the Public Order Act 2023 (c. 15) (“the Act”). They are the sixth commencement regulations to be made under the Act, but the fifth which extend only to England and Wales.

Regulation 2 brings into force section 9 of the Act.

Section 9 of the Act establishes “safe access zones” around abortion clinics. It makes it an offence within a safe access zone to intentionally or recklessly influence, obstruct, or cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person in connection with their decision to access, provide, or facilitate the provision of abortion services at an abortion clinic. It defines the boundaries of safe access zones and outlines exceptions, such as for activities inside dwellings or places of worship. It also specifies the maximum penalty for the offence, which is an unlimited fine.

A full impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as the Regulations themselves have no impact on the private, voluntary or public sector. A full impact assessment has been prepared in relation to the Act, and a copy is available at https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3153/publications.

Provisions of the Public Order Act 2023 which have been brought into force by commencement regulations made before the date of these Regulations are also listed in the Explanatory Note.