House of Commons Amendments

Session 2010 - 12
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
3698

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

(c)
determining the maximum and minimum fee that may be

specified under sub-paragraph (1)(c), and the frequency of such

payments;

(d)
regulating the functions of the monitoring officer; and

(e)
making such supplemental, incidental, consequential and

transitional provision as the Secretary of State considers

necessary or expedient.

(7)
In this paragraph—

“appropriate adult” means—

(g)
the offender’s parent or guardian or, if the offender is in the care

of the local authority or voluntary organisation, a person

representing that authority or organisation,

(h)
a social worker of the local authority, or

(i)
if no person falling within paragraph (a) or (b) is available, any

responsible person aged 18 or over who is not a police officer or

a person employed by the police;

“monitoring officer” means any person, other than the responsible officer,

specified in an alcohol monitoring requirement as the person to whom

samples must be provided.”.

(2)
Schedule (Youth rehabilitation orders: Alcohol monitoring requirement) makes

further amendments to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.’.

Unsolicited cold calling and SMS texting to induce a legal claim

Mr Andy Slaughter

NC5

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The Information Commissioner shall investigate a complaint that a person has

received an unsolicited telephone call or SMS text message to induce that person

to make a claim for damages in respect of personal injury.

(2)
If the complaint is substantiated the Information Commissioner shall instruct the

telephone network operators of the line from which the call was made and to

which a return call was solicited to—

(a)
disconnect

(i)
the lines from which the call or SMS text was made and to which

a return call was solicited; and

(ii)
all other lines used by the individual or business initiating the call

or SMS text;


and

(b)
not reconnect that individual or business to another line for a period of 12

months or such other period as the Commissioner shall prescribe.

(3)
Within five days of receipt of an instruction under subsection (2) above the

telephone network operators shall act upon it.

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
3699

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

(4)
The Information Commissioner shall notify all other telephone network operators

of an instruction under subsection (2) above.

Referral fees and whiplash injuries in road traffic cases

Mr Andy Slaughter

NC6

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
A person who pays, offers or requests a referral fee, or who enters into an

agreement for the payment of a referral fee, in relation to any road traffic claim is

guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a

term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum

or to both.

(2)
A person is not entitled to damages for whiplash injury arising out of a collision

between motor vehicles unless—

(a)
the speed of any vehicle involved in the collision was five miles per hour

or greater, or

(b)
medical evidence establishes that the person had at the time of the

collision a particular susceptibility to neck or back injury.

(3)
In this section—

“referral fee” means a money payment (other than a payment for advertising

or publicity) between persons carrying on business for profit, for the

purpose of procuring instructions to conduct a claim;

“road traffic claim” means a claim for damages for personal injuries arising

out of the use of a motor vehicle; and

“whiplash injury” means an injury to the neck caused by an abrupt jerking

motion of the head.’.

Personal injury cases: unsolicited communications and disclosure of data

Mr Andy Slaughter

NC7

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
In this section, “prohibited communication” means—

(a)
an unsolicited written message sent by electronic means (including a text

message sent over a mobile communications network),

(b)
an unsolicited telephone call, or

(c)
a telephone call consisting of a pre-recorded or automated message,


intended or likely to encourage a person to make a claim for damages for personal

injuries or to obtain from the sender of the communication any services connected

with such a claim.

(2)
A person who sends any prohibited communication, or who causes or permits a

prohibited communication to be sent, is guilty of an offence and liable on

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
3700

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both;

(3)
For the purposes of the first data protection principle set out in Part 1 of Schedule

1 to the Data Protection Act 1998 (“the 1998 Act”), data processed by a person

carrying on business for profit are not to be treated as processed fairly and

lawfully where the data—

(a)
indicated that the data subject has suffered, or may have suffered,

personal injuries, and

(b)
are disclosed to another person without the data subject’s explicit

consent.

(4)
Where an offence under section 55(1), (4) or (5) of the 1998 Act (obtaining,

disclosing, etc. personal data without data controller’s consent, or selling or

offering to sell such data) relates to personal data held by a person carrying on

business for profit, and the data indicate that the data subject has, or may have,

suffered personal injuries, a person guilty of the offence is liable (instead of the

penalties prescribed by section 60(2) of that Act) on summary conviction, to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the

statutory maximum or to both.

(5)
In section 55 of the 1998 Act after subsection (5) insert the following new

subsections—

“(5A)
A data controller who, in the course of a business carried on for profit,

and without the data subject’s explicit consent, discloses to another

person (“B”) personal data which indicate that the data subject has, or

may have suffered personal injuries, and who—

(a)
intends that the data be used for the purpose of making any

prohibited communication (within the meaning of section

[Unsolicited communications etc. in personal injury cases] of

the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act

2011), or

(b)
is reckless as to whether the data are so used,


is guilty of an offence.

(5B)
A person guilty of an offence under subsection (5A) is liable (instead of the

penalties prescribed by section 60(2)) on summary conviction, to imprisonment

for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory

maximum or to both.”’.

Personal injury claims management companies

Mr Andy Slaughter

NC8

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
The ombudsman scheme established under Part 6 of the Legal Services Act 2007

applies to persons providing personal injury claims management services as if the

person providing those services was at the relevant time (within the meaning of

section 128 of that Act) an authorised person in relation to a reserved legal

activity.

(2)
For the purposes of subsection (1) the provisions of and made under that Part

apply, with the necessary modifications, to persons providing personal injury

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
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Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

claims management services as they apply to authorised persons carrying on

reserved legal activities.

(3)
A person providing personal injury claims management services (“the provider”)

must ensure that subsection (5) is complied with in relation to any published

material designed to bring the provider’s services to the attention of members of

the public.

(4)
Where a provider enters into a contract with another person (“the client”) for the

provision of personal injury claims management services, the provider must

immediately give the client a written statement complying with subsection (5).

(5)
This subsection is complied with where the material or statement prominently—

(a)
where the provider is not authorised under the Legal Services Act 2007

to conduct litigation, states that fact and that the provider’s services do

not include conducting any proceedings;

(b)
in a case to which paragraph (a) applies, and where the provider receives

payment for referring claims, states that any proceedings resulting from

the provider’s services will be conducted by a person to whom claims are

sold; and

(c)
whether or not paragraph (a) applies, discloses the average payment per

case which the provider has received for referring claims during the

previous 12 months.

(6)
A person who contravenes the duty imposed by subsection (3) or (4) is guilty of

an offence and liable on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not

exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both.

(7)
In this section, “personal injury claims management services” means advice or

assistance, provided in the course of a business carried on for profit, in relation to

the making of a claim for damages for personal injuries.’.

Duty to take into account risk of harm to victim when determining whether to grant bail

Mr Elfyn Llwyd

NC10

To move the following Clause:—

‘A defendant aged 18 or over shall not be granted bail unless there are exceptional

circumstances if he or she is accused of a serious sexual offence and any alleged

victim is at risk of physical or mental harm’.

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
3702

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

Duty to take into account risk of harm to victim when determining exceptional

circumstances in granting bail

Mr Elfyn Llwyd

NC11

To move the following Clause:—

‘In considering whether there are exceptional circumstances in any case where a

defendant aged 18 or over is accused of a sexual offence the court must take into

account any risk of harm, either physically or mentally, to any alleged victim’.

Duty to impose condition of no contact when granting bail to certain defendants

Mr Elfyn Llwyd

NC12

To move the following Clause:—

‘If bail is granted in exceptional circumstances to a defendant aged 18 or over and

accused of a serious sexual offence the court should impose a condition of no

contact with the alleged victim’.

Duty to remand into custody certain defendants who break terms of bail

Mr Elfyn Llwyd

NC13

To move the following Clause:—

‘If a defendant aged 18 or over is granted bail in exceptional circumstances

having been accused of a serious sexual offence and makes contact with the

victim or breaches the conditions of their bail in any other way he or she shall be

automatically remanded into custody’.

Sentencing law relating to extended supervision

Mr Elfyn Llwyd

NC14

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is amended as follows.

(1)
After section 227(2B) insert—

“(c)
In determining whether to impose extended supervision a court

shall have regard to the seriousness of the original offence, any

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
3703

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

psychological or psychiatric assessment that is carried out

following the commission of the original offence and any

subsequent psychological or psychiatric assessments and the

likelihood of the person being involved in further similar serious

offending.”.’.

Approach to settle by an insurance company to a personal injury claimant

Mr Andy Slaughter

NC15

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
It shall be an offence for a third party’s insurance company to make an approach

to a claimant who is making a claim for damages for personal injury against that

third party with an offer to settle that claim if that approach is—

(a)
unsolicited; or

(b)
the claimant has legal representation known to the insurance company.

(2)
For the avoidance of doubt “unsolicited” in this section includes the mere

intimation of a claim to the third party or his insurance company without a

specific request for settlement proposals.

(3)
If the third party’s insurance company makes an offer to settle in circumstances

not prohibited by this section, then it must ensure—

(a)
that adequate medical evidence of the personal injury is obtained and

shared with the claimant; and

(b)
the claimant is advised—

(i)
of his right to obtain legal advice before deciding upon the offer;

and

(ii)
in the event of acceptance, that the offer is in full and final

settlement of the claim and cannot later be reopened, if that be

the case.

(4)
In the event of a conviction under this section the penalty shall be an unlimited

fine.’.

Appeal against bail granted in the Crown Court

Mrs Jenny Chapman

NC16

To move the following Clause:—

‘After section 1 of the Bail (Amendment) Act 1993 insert—

“1A
Appeal against a decision granting bail in the Crown Court

(1)
Where a Crown Court grants bail to a person who is charged with or

convicted of an offence triable on indictment the prosecution may appeal

to a Judge of the High Court against the granting of bail.

Notices of Amendments: 27 October 2011
3704

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, continued

(2)
Subsection (1) above applies only where the prosecution is conducted—

(a)
by or on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions; or

(b)
by a person who falls within such a class or description of person

as may be prescribed for purposes of this section by order made

by the Secretary of State.

(3)
Such an appeal may be made only if—

(a)
the prosecution made representations that bail should not be

granted; and

(b)
the representations were made before it was granted.

(4)
In the event of the prosecution wishing to exercise the right of appeal set

out in subsection (1) above oral notice of appeal shall be given to the

Crown Court at the conclusion of the proceedings in which such bail has

been granted and before the release from custody of the person

concerned.

(5)
Written notice of appeal shall thereafter be served on the Crown Court

and the person concerned within two hours of the conclusion of such

proceedings.

(6)
Upon receipt from the prosecution of oral notice of appeal from its

decision to grant bail the Crown Court shall remand in custody the person

concerned until the appeal is determined or otherwise disposed of.

(7)
Where the prosecution falls within the period of two hours mentioned in

subsection (5) above to serve one or both of the notices required by that

subsection the appeal shall be deemed to have been disposed of.

(8)
The hearing of an appeal under subsection (1) above against a decision of

the Crown Court to grant bail shall be commenced within 48 hours

excluding weekends and any public holiday (that is to say Christmas

Day, Good Friday or a Bank Holiday) from the date on which oral notice

of appeal is given.

(9)
At the hearing of any appeal by the prosecution under this section such

appeal shall be by way of re-hearing and the judge hearing any such

appeal may remand the person concerned in custody or may grant bail

subject to such conditions (if any) as s/he thinks fit.’.

Women in prison

Mrs Jenny Chapman

Kate Green

Sandra Osborne

Heidi Alexander

Yvonne Fovargue

Diana Johnson

Total signatories: 9

Valerie Vaz

Glenda Jackson

Roberta Blackman-Woods

NC28

To move the following Clause:—



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