Straw is understood to be furious with the news that just one order has been successfully obtained in England since legislation came into force last April.
The orders form a keystone of Labour's tough stance on crime. Straw is widely held to be behind a controversial rewrite of the guidance for the orders, which ruled out the need for authorities to use them as a last resort.
Officials from the Home Office's crime reduction unit have been touring the country in a bid to discourage authorities from "navel gazing" over the legal complications.
Last week they visited Dundee where three orders - including Britain's first - have been obtained.
However, councils are concerned about falling foul of legal action. "Nobody wants to be among the first to do them because nobody wants to get sued," remarked one source close to government.
They are instead opting for traditional methods like possession notices or injunctions.
Herefordshire county council's legal practice manager Duncan Forbes said councils were "absolutely right" to proceed carefully.
He said: "It is important to recognise that they are not necessary when you can take out injunctions. I don't think it is a big problem that there haven't been many."
But Dundee's city housing manager David Simpson advised councils to avoid "getting tied up in legal argument".
"We were told the Home Secretary wanted to see these used and not people navel gazing," he said.
"A lot of authorities seem to be throwing up lots of things that might be a problem in certain combinations of circumstances."
A Home Office spokesman said local authorities should be looking at how could improve local communities through crime reduction strategies. "We are aware that people are looking at the orders, and they are measures which will take a little time to take hold, but they are not simply to sit on the statute book and gather dust."
Source
Housing Today
No comments yet