Session 2014 - 15
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Other Bills before Parliament


 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1634

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

Remaining New Clauses and New Schedules; Remaining Proceedings on

 

Consideration

 

Secretary Theresa May

 

NC23

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Throwing articles into prisons

 

After section 40CA of the Prison Act 1952 (inserted by section 75 above) insert—

 

“40CB

Throwing articles into prison

 

(1)    

A person who, without authorisation, throws any article or substance into

 

a prison is guilty of an offence.

 

(2)    

For the purposes of subsection (1)—

 

(a)    

the reference to an article or substance does not include a

 

reference to a List A article, a List B article or a List C article (as

 

defined by section 40A);

 

(b)    

the reference to “throwing” an article or substance into a prison

 

includes a reference to doing anything from outside the prison

 

that results in the article or substance being projected or

 

conveyed over or through a boundary of the prison so as to land

 

inside the prison.

 

(3)    

In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for the

 

accused to show that—

 

(a)    

he reasonably believed that he had authorisation to do the act in

 

respect of which the proceedings are brought, or

 

(b)    

in all the circumstances there was an overriding public interest

 

which justified the doing of that act.

 

(4)    

A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

 

(a)    

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not

 

exceeding two years or to a fine (or both);

 

(b)    

on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not

 

exceeding 12 months or to a fine (or both).

 

(5)    

In this section “authorisation” means authorisation given for the purposes

 

of this section; and subsections (1) to (3) of section 40E apply in relation

 

to authorisations so given as they apply to authorisations given for the

 

purposes of section 40D.””

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This New Clause creates a new offence of throwing any article or substance into a prison without

 

authorisation (so far as not already prohibited under the Prison Act 1952). The offence would be

 

triable either way with a maximum penalty (on conviction on indictment) of two years’

 

imprisonment.

 



 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1635

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

Secretary Theresa May

 

NC24

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Codes of practice about investigatory powers: journalistic sources

 

In section 71 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (issue and

 

revision of codes of practice), after subsection (2) insert—

 

“(2A)    

A code of practice under subsection (1) that relates (expressly or

 

otherwise) to the exercise and performance, in connection with the

 

prevention or detection of serious crime, of powers and duties conferred

 

or imposed by or under Part 1 of this Act—

 

(a)    

shall include provision designed to protect the public interest in

 

the confidentiality of journalistic sources;

 

(b)    

shall not be issued unless the Secretary of State has first

 

consulted the Interception of Communications Commissioner

 

and considered any relevant report made to the Prime Minister

 

under section 58.””

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This New Clause requires a code of practice made under section 71 of the Regulation of

 

Investigatory Powers Act 2000 relating to the exercise of powers in Part 1 of that Act in relation

 

to the prevention or detection of serious crime to include provision to protect the public interest in

 

the confidentiality of journalistic sources.

 


 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Mr Dominic Raab

 

Mr John Leech

 

Mr David Davis

 

Mr Tom Watson

 

Caroline Lucas

 

Keith Vaz

 

Mark Reckless

 

Greg Mulholland

 

Sir Alan Beith

 

John Hemming

 

Mr John Whittingdale

 

NC4

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Investigation of crime: journalistic and privileged material

 

(1)    

After section 22(5B) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000

 

(obtaining and disclosing communications data) insert—

 

“(5C)    

An authorisation granted or notice given under subsection (3), (3B) or (4)

 

for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime may not authorise or

 

require any activity which is likely to result in journalistic source

 

information or privileged information being obtained or disclosed, unless

 

a judge has permitted the grant of the authorisation or the giving of the

 

notice in accordance with section 22A.

 

(5D)    

For the purposes of this section “journalistic source information” means

 

information which identifies, or might reasonably be expected to lead to


 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1636

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

the identification of, the source of confidential journalistic material,

 

within the meaning given by section 100 of the Police Act 1997.

 

(5E)    

For the purposes of this section “privileged information” means—

 

(a)    

information amounting to or contained in matters subject to legal

 

privilege within the meaning given by section 98 of the Police

 

Act 1997; and

 

(b)    

confidential personal information, within the meaning given by

 

section 99 of that Act, acquired or created in the course of, or

 

otherwise obtained in connection with, a person‘s acting as a

 

minister of religion, as a healthcare professional or as a Member

 

of the House of Commons.”

 

(2)    

After section 22 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 insert—

 

“22A  

Judicial protection of journalistic and privileged material

 

(1)    

This section applies where—

 

(a)    

a person wishes to grant an authorisation or give a notice under

 

section 22(3), (3B) or (4) for the purpose of preventing or

 

detecting crime; and

 

(b)    

the authorisation or notice is likely to result in journalistic source

 

information or privileged information (as defined in section

 

22(5D) and (5E)) being obtained or disclosed.

 

(2)    

The person may apply to a Circuit Judge for permission to grant the

 

authorisation or to give the notice.

 

(3)    

The application must—

 

(a)    

be in writing;

 

(b)    

set out the grounds on which it is made;

 

(c)    

be made on notice to any person to whom the authorisation or

 

notice would be granted or given or who might reasonably be

 

expected to be required to comply with it, unless the applicant

 

certifies that there is reason to believe that giving notice under

 

this paragraph might seriously prejudice a criminal

 

investigation; and

 

(d)    

comply with any other provision, including as to timing, made by

 

rules of court.

 

(4)    

A judge may give permission under this section only if satisfied that—

 

(a)    

the grant of the authorisation or the giving of the notice is

 

necessary for the purposes of the prevention or detection of

 

serious crime;

 

(b)    

obtaining the data in question by the conduct authorised or

 

required by the authorisation or notice is proportionate to what is

 

sought to be achieved by so obtaining the data; and

 

(c)    

it is right to give permission, having regard to the importance of

 

the public interest in—

 

(i)    

protecting the confidentiality of journalists’ sources;

 

(ii)    

maintaining legal professional privilege; or

 

(iii)    

protecting the confidentiality of personal information in

 

the circumstances specified in section 22(5E)(b).

 

(5)    

It is an offence for a person who is given notice of an application under

 

this section to conceal, destroy, alter or dispose of the material to which

 

the application relates except with the permission of a Circuit Judge; and


 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1637

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

(a)    

this subsection ceases to apply if the application is dismissed or

 

withdrawn or if an authorisation or notice granted or given in

 

reliance on this section has been complied with; and

 

(b)    

a person who is guilty of an offence under this subsection is

 

liable—

 

(i)    

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term

 

not exceeding two years, to a fine or both; or

 

(ii)    

on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the

 

statutory maximum.””

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This Clause would provide for judicial oversight for police and other authorities’ access to

 

communications data which might involve the identification of journalist sources, as

 

recommended by the Interception of Communications Commissioner. It provides the same level of

 

protection for legally privileged and medically privileged communications and for

 

communications between people and their ministers of religion or their MP.

 


 

Dr Julian Huppert

 

Mr Dominic Raab

 

Mr John Leech

 

Mr David Davis

 

Mr Tom Watson

 

Caroline Lucas

 

Keith Vaz

 

Mark Reckless

 

Greg Mulholland

 

John Hemming

 

Mr John Whittingdale

 

NC5

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Code of practice on investigatory powers: journalistic and privileged

 

material

 

(1)    

The Secretary of State must ensure that any code of practice under section 71 of

 

the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 that deals (expressly or

 

otherwise) with the use of powers under that Act in relation to the prevention or

 

detection of serious crime, includes provisions designed to protect the public

 

interest in—

 

(a)    

the confidentiality of journalists’ sources;

 

(b)    

legal professional privilege; and

 

(c)    

the confidentiality of personal information obtained in connection with a

 

person’s acting as a minister of religion, as a healthcare professional or

 

as a Member of the House of Commons.

 

(2)    

In complying with subsection (1) the Secretary of State must—

 

(a)    

consult the Interception of Communications Commissioner appointed

 

under section 57(1) of that Act; and


 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1638

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

(b)    

have regard to any relevant report of an inquiry submitted by that

 

Commissioner to the Prime Minister.”

 

Member’s explanatory statement

 

This new Clause provides that the RIPA Code of Practice includes provisions which protect the

 

public interest in the confidentiality of journalists’ sources and the other privileged

 

communications.

 


 

Mr Elfyn Llwyd

 

NC13

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Violence in prisons: report to Parliament

 

(1)    

Before section 75 comes into force, the Secretary of State shall lay a report before

 

Parliament setting out a strategy to reduce violence in prisons.

 

(2)    

The report shall include (but need not be restricted to)—

 

(a)    

an assessment of research evidence on effective approaches to reducing

 

violence in prisons;

 

(b)    

an assessment of existing strategies and approaches which the prison

 

service has in place to reduce violence in prisons;

 

(c)    

an assessment of the necessary ratio of staff to prisoners required to

 

maintain a safe and secure prison environment;

 

(d)    

an assessment of the arrangements in place for the training and

 

monitoring of prison staff in preventing and reducing violence.”

 


 

Mr Steve Reed

 

Jack Dromey

 

Seema Malhotra

 

NC14

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Annual reports: cyber-crime strategy

 

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 is amended as follows—

 

In section 12 (Annual reports), at end insert—

 

“(8)    

A report under this section must include details of the policing body’s

 

strategy for reducing cyber-crime and progress or performance against

 

any targets or equivalent metrics contained therein.””

 



 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1639

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

Mr Dominic Raab

 

Keith Vaz

 

Sir Malcolm Rifkind

 

Sir Menzies Campbell

 

Margaret Hodge

 

Sir Edward Garnier

 

Norman Baker

 

Mr John Whittingdale

 

Mr Ben Bradshaw

 

Dr Sarah Wollaston

 

Mr Charles Walker

 

Tessa Munt

 

Mr David Davies

 

Stephen Barclay

 

Sir Peter Bottomley

 

Andrew Rosindell

 

Tim Loughton

 

Nick de Bois

 

Zac Goldsmith

 

Dr Julian Lewis

 

Dr Phillip Lee

 

Jacob Rees-Mogg

 

NC18

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Excluded persons (involvement in serious crime): publication of names

 

(1)    

Where the Secretary of State has exercised prerogative powers to exclude from,

 

or deny entry into, the United Kingdom any foreign national on grounds of a

 

reasonable belief that the named person has benefited from, or has a material

 

connection to or involvement in, one or more serious crimes, including but not

 

limited, to the commission of—

 

(a)    

an act or acts deliberately undertaken to foster extremism or hatred;

 

(b)    

an act or acts deliberately undertaken to facilitate, contribute to, support,

 

encourage or promote terrorism;

 

(c)    

an act or acts of torture or any other international crime or serious

 

violation of international human rights law; or

 

(d)    

a money-laundering offence or any other offence relating to serious or

 

ororganised crime or more than one such offence,

 

    

the Secretary of State shall, subject to subsection (2), publish the name of each

 

such person, and the ground or grounds for exclusion, within one month of the

 

exclusion coming into effect.

 

(2)    

The publication of the name of an excluded person under subsection (1) may be

 

deferred by the Secretary of State, where there are reasonable grounds for

 

believing that such publication would present a risk to—

 

(a)    

national security or public safety;

 

(b)    

enable suspects in a United Kingdom criminal investigation to avoid

 

arrest, or

 

(c)    

materially reduce the prospects of a conviction in an existing criminal

 

prosecution in the United Kingdom,

 

    

for no longer than is required to materially mitigate the risk or risks identified in

 

this subsection and, in any case for no longer than up to a maximum of six

 

months.

 

(3)    

In the case of a deferred publication of the name of an excluded person, the

 

Secretary of State shall, on publication of such a deferred name, also publish a

 

statement identifying which risk, or which of the risks, identified in subsection (2)

 

applied in making the decision to defer publication.

 

(4)    

This section shall apply to persons already excluded from, or denied entry into,

 

the United Kingdom, on grounds included in subsection (1), from the date on

 

which it comes into force.”

 



 
 

Consideration of Bill: 23 February 2015                  

1640

 

Serious Crime Bill-[ [], continued

 
 

Diana Johnson

 

Jack Dromey

 

Seema Malhotra

 

Mr Steve Reed

 

NC20

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“Prevention of firearms offences

 

In the Firearms Act 1968 insert—

 

“28B  

Assessing public safety

 

(1)    

When assessing the threat to public safety under sections 27, 28, 30A,

 

30B or 30C the Chief Police Officer must ensure that a range of

 

background checks are performed.

 

(2)    

Where these checks uncover substantiated evidence of violent conduct or

 

domestic violence, the Chief Police Officer should refuse the licence

 

application unless exceptional evidence can be brought forward by the

 

applicant as to their suitability to possess a weapon.

 

(3)    

When assessing public safety within this section the Chief Police Officer

 

must follow any guidance issued by the Secretary of State.

 

(4)    

The Secretary of State must ensure adequate resourcing of licence

 

applications and consult with Chief Police Officers to ensure the level of

 

fees collected by the Police under sections 32 and 35 are sufficient for the

 

Police to recoup the costs they incur through the administration and

 

assessment of firearms licences issued or applied for under this Act.””

 


 

Seema Malhotra

 

Diana Johnson

 

Jack Dromey

 

Mr Steve Reed

 

NC21

 

To move the following Clause

 

         

“New psychoactive substances

 

(1)    

It is an offence for a person to supply, or offer to supply, a synthetic psychoactive

 

substance, including but not restricted to—

 

(a)    

a powder;

 

(b)    

a pill;

 

(c)    

a liquid; or

 

(d)    

a herbal substance with the appearance of cannabis,

 

    

which he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, to be so acting, that the

 

substance is likely to be consumed by a person for the purpose of causing

 

intoxication.

 

(2)    

This section does not apply to alcohol, tobacco, or any drug currently scheduled

 

under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 or the Medicines Act 1968 or any substance,

 

product or foodstuff specified by the Secretary of State following consultation

 

with the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.


 
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Revised 23 February 2015