Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Page 115, line 5, at end insert—

(1) Civil legal services provided to enable a claimant to establish whether there are reasonable grounds for making an allegation that the claimant has been a victim of clinical negligence for which the NHSLA should be liable to pay compensation.

(2) Civil legal services under this paragraph shall, if requested by the claimant, include the appointment by NHSLA of a single expert medical witness, from a list maintained by the NHSLA and AVMA, to report on whether there are grounds for making a claim.”

Page 43, line 32, at end insert—

“(1A) The court may order that the prosecution should inform the victim of the court’s decision and the consequences thereof.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Youth rehabilitation order: restorative justice requirement

(1) In section 1(1) of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (youth rehabilitation order: requirements), after paragraph (o) insert—

“(p) the court may include in a youth rehabilitation order a restorative justice requirement”.

(2) Schedule (Restorative Justice Requirement—Criminal Justice Act 2003) shall have effect.”

Insert the following new Clause—

“Enforcement

(1) Where a magistrates’ court has proceeded in the absence of an offender and the court has imposed a fine following conviction any warrant to enforce a fine or other financial penalty, the court may at any time suspend or withdraw the warrant and the matter returned to the court which convicted the offender or such other responsible court within jurisdiction for the area in which the offender resides (“the responsible court”).

(2) Regulations shall be made enabling a court, Her Majesty’s Court Service or any person employed to enforce a warrant against a convicted person, to suspend or withdraw the warrant and return the matter to the court which convicted the offender or the responsible court as in subsection (6).

(3) Any person enforcing a warrant for a levy of distress or an execution against goods on behalf of a magistrates’ court shall be paid a single fee in respect of the work undertaken on the warrant to recover the fine or debt.

(4) Where any person enforcing a warrant for a levy of distress or an execution against goods on following a fine or other order imposed by a magistrates’ court fails to recover the payment of the fine or discovers no or insufficient goods exist, that person shall return the matter to the court which imposed the fine or the responsible court in subsection (1) in order that another enforcement method for the recovery of the money owed may be undertaken.

(5) Regulations made under subsection (2) shall include the steps to be taken in a case where following conviction it is discovered that the convicted person falls into a “vulnerable category” for the purposes of page 9 of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents or as may be prescribed.

(6) Where on enforcing a warrant for a levy of distress or an execution against goods, the person enforcing the warrant discovers that the convicted person falls into a vulnerable category for the purposes of page 9 of the National Standards for Enforcement Agents or under regulations made in subsection (5), it shall be the duty of the person enforcing the warrant to return the matter to the magistrates’ court or the responsible court as the case may be for further consideration of the enforcement steps to be taken.”

Insert the following new Schedule—

(1) The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is amended as follows:

(2) In section 177 (community orders), in subsection (1) after paragraph (j) insert—

“a restorative justice requirement”.”