Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Insert the following new Clause—

“CHAPTER 7A REHABILITATION OF OFFENDERS

Establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods

(1) The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is amended as follows.

(2) In section 5(1)(b) and (d) (sentences excluded from rehabilitation) for “thirty months” substitute “forty eight months”.

(3) In the opening words of section 5(1A) (references to provisions of the Armed Forces Act 2006) for “subsection (1)(d)” substitute “this section”.

(4) For section 5(2) to (11) (rehabilitation periods) substitute—

“(2) For the purposes of this Act and subject to subsections (3) and (4), the rehabilitation period for a sentence is the period—

(a) beginning with the date of the conviction in respect of which the sentence is imposed, and

(b) ending at the time listed in the following Table in relation to that sentence:

Sentence	End of rehabilitation period for adult offenders	End of rehabilitation period for offenders under 18 at date of conviction
A custodial sentence of more than 30 months and up to, or consisting of, 48 months	The end of the period of 7 years beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed	The end of the period of 42 months beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed
A custodial sentence of more than 6 months and up to, or consisting of, 30 months	The end of the period of 48 months beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed	The end of the period of 24 months beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed
A custodial sentence of 6 months or less	The end of the period of 24 months beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed	The end of the period of 18 months beginning with the day on which the sentence (including any licence period) is completed
Removal from Her Majesty’s service	The end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the conviction in respect of which the sentence is imposed	The end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date of the conviction in respect of which the sentence is imposed
A sentence of service detention	The end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which the sentence is completed	The end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the sentence is completed
A fine	The end of the period of 12 months beginning with the date of the conviction in respect of which the sentence is imposed	The end of the period of 6 months beginning with the date of the conviction in respect of which the sentence is imposed
A compensation order	The date on which the payment is made in full	The date on which the payment is made in full
A community or youth rehabilitation order	The end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day provided for by or under the order as the last day on which the order is to have effect	The end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day provided for by or under the order as the last day on which the order is to have effect
A relevant order	The day provided for by or under the order as the last day on which the order is to have effect	The day provided for by or under the order as the last day on which the order is to have effect

(3) Where no provision is made by or under a community or youth rehabilitation order or a relevant order for the last day on which the order is to have effect, the rehabilitation period for the order is to be the period of 24 months beginning with the date of conviction.

(4) There is no rehabilitation period for—

(a) an order discharging a person absolutely for an offence, or

(b) any other sentence in respect of a conviction where the sentence is not dealt with in the Table or under subsection (3),

and, in such cases, references in this Act to any rehabilitation period are to be read as if the period of time were nil.

(5) See also—

(a) section 8AA (protection afforded to spent alternatives to prosecution), and

(b) Schedule 2 (protection for spent cautions).

(6) The Secretary of State may by order amend column 2 or 3 of the Table or the number of months for the time being specified in subsection (3).

(7) For the purposes of this section—

(a) consecutive terms of imprisonment or other custodial sentences are to be treated as a single term,

(b) terms of imprisonment or other custodial sentences which are wholly or partly concurrent (that is terms of imprisonment or other custodial sentences imposed in respect of offences of which a person was convicted in the same proceedings) are to be treated as a single term,

(c) no account is to be taken of any subsequent variation, made by a court dealing with a person in respect of a suspended sentence of imprisonment, of the term originally imposed,

(d) no account is to be taken of any subsequent variation of the day originally provided for by or under an order as the last day on which the order is to have effect,

(e) no account is to be taken of any detention or supervision ordered by a court under section 104(3) of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000,

(f) a sentence imposed by a court outside England and Wales is to be treated as the sentence mentioned in this section to which it most closely corresponds.

(8) In this section—

“community or youth rehabilitation order” means—

(a) a community order under section 177 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003,

(b) a service community order or overseas community order under the Armed Forces Act 2006,

(c) a youth rehabilitation order under Part 1 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, or

(d) any order of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by an order mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c),

“custodial sentence” means—

(a) a sentence of imprisonment,

(b) a sentence of detention in a young offender institution,

(c) a sentence of Borstal training,

(d) a sentence of youth custody,

(e) a sentence of corrective training,

(f) a sentence of detention under section 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 or section 209 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,

(g) a detention and training order under section 100 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 or an order under section 211 of the Armed Forces Act 2006,

(h) any sentence of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by a sentence mentioned in paragraph (f) or (g),

“earlier statutory order” means—

(a) an order under section 54 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 committing the person convicted to custody in a remand home,

(b) an approved school order under section 57 of that Act, or

(c) any order of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by an order mentioned in any of paragraphs (c) to (e) of the definition of “relevant order” or in paragraph (a) or (b) above,

“relevant order” means—

(a) an order discharging a person conditionally for an offence,

(b) an order binding a person over to keep the peace or be of good behaviour,

(c) an order under section 1(2A) of the Street Offences Act 1959,

(d) a hospital order under Part 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (with or without a restriction order),

(e) a referral order under section 16 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000,

(f) an earlier statutory order, or

(g) any order which imposes a disqualification, disability, prohibition or other penalty and is not otherwise dealt with in the Table or under subsection (3),

but does not include a reparation order under section 73 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000,

“removal from Her Majesty’s service” means a sentence of dismissal with disgrace from Her Majesty’s service, a sentence of dismissal from Her Majesty’s service or a sentence of cashiering or discharge with ignominy,

“sentence of imprisonment” includes a sentence of penal servitude (and “term of imprisonment” is to be read accordingly),

“sentence of service detention” means—

(a) a sentence of service detention (within the meaning given by section 374 of the Armed Forces Act 2006), or a sentence of detention corresponding to such a sentence, in respect of a conviction in service disciplinary proceedings, or

(b) any sentence of a kind superseded (whether directly or indirectly) by a sentence mentioned in paragraph (a).”

(5) In section 6 (subsequent convictions to extend the rehabilitation period applicable to a conviction)—

(a) in subsection (5) (exception to rule for certain orders imposing disqualifications etc.) for “in accordance with section 5(8) above” substitute “by virtue of paragraph (g) of the definition of “relevant order” in section 5(8) above”, and

(b) omit subsection (6) (other exceptions to the rule).

(6) After section 8A (protection afforded to spent cautions) insert—

“8AA Protection afforded to spent alternatives to prosecution

(1) The following provisions of this Act apply, with the modifications specified in subsection (3), to a spent alternative to prosecution as they apply to a spent caution—

(a) section 9A (unauthorised disclosure of spent cautions), and

(b) paragraphs 2 to 6 of Schedule 2 (protection relating to spent cautions and ancillary circumstances).

(2) An alternative to prosecution becomes spent for the purposes of this Act when it becomes spent under the law of Scotland.

(3) The modifications mentioned in subsection (1) are—

(a) references to cautions are to be read as references to alternatives to prosecution (and references to cautioned are to be read accordingly),

(b) references to the offence which was the subject of the caution are to be read as references to the offence in respect of which the alternative to prosecution was given,

(c) paragraphs (e) and (f) of paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 2 are to be read as if they were—

“(e) anything done or undergone in pursuance of the terms of the alternative to prosecution,”,

(d) references to cautions for an offence are to be read as references to alternatives to prosecution in respect of an offence, and

(e) the reference in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2 to the rehabilitation period applicable to the caution is to be read as a reference to the time at which the alternative to prosecution becomes spent.

(4) In this section “alternative to prosecution” has the same meaning as in section 8B as that section has effect in the law of Scotland but disregarding subsection (1)(f) of that section.”

(7) In paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 (protection for spent cautions)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (1)(a) (when conditional cautions to be regarded as spent cautions) for “, at the end of the relevant period for the caution;” substitute “—

(i) at the end of the period of three months from the date on which the caution is given, or

(ii) if earlier, when the caution ceases to have effect; and”, and

(b) omit sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) (meaning of “the relevant period for the caution”).”

Insert the following new Clause—

“No rehabilitation for certain immigration or nationality purposes

Before section 57 of the UK Borders Act 2007 (and after the italic cross-heading before that section) insert—

“56A No rehabilitation for certain immigration or nationality purposes

(1) Section 4(1), (2) and (3) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (effect of rehabilitation) do not apply—

(a) in relation to any proceedings in respect of a relevant immigration decision or a relevant nationality decision, or

(b) otherwise for the purposes of, or in connection with, any such decision.

(2) In this section—

“immigration officer” means a person appointed by the Secretary of State as an immigration officer under paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971,

“relevant immigration decision” means any decision, or proposed decision, of the Secretary of State or an immigration officer under or by virtue of the Immigration Acts, or rules made under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 (immigration rules), in relation to the entitlement of a person to enter or remain in the United Kingdom (including, in particular, the removal of a person from the United Kingdom, whether by deportation or otherwise),

“relevant nationality decision” means any decision, or proposed decision, of the Secretary of State under or by virtue of—

(a) the British Nationality Act 1981,

(b) the British Nationality (Hong Kong) Act 1990, or

(c) the Hong Kong (War Wives and Widows) Act 1996,

in relation to the good character of a person.

(3) The references in subsection (2) to the Immigration Acts and to the Acts listed in the definition of “relevant nationality decision” include references to any provision made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972, or of EU law, which relates to the subject matter of the Act concerned.””

Insert the following new Clause—

“Transitional and consequential provision: Chapter 7A

(1) Section (establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods) applies in relation to convictions or (as the case may be) cautions before the commencement date (as well as in relation to convictions or cautions on or after that date).

(2) The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 applies in relation to convictions or cautions before the commencement date as if the amendments and repeals made by section (establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods) had always had effect.

(3) Where by virtue of subsection (2)—

(a) a person would, before the commencement date, have been treated for the purposes of the Act of 1974 as a rehabilitated person in respect of a conviction, or

(b) a conviction would, before that date, have been treated for the purposes of that Act as spent,

the person or conviction concerned is (subject to any order made by virtue of section 4(4) or 7(4)) to be so treated on and after that date.

(4) Where by virtue of subsection (2)—

(a) a person would, before the commencement date, have been treated as mentioned in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 to the Act of 1974 in respect of a caution, or

(b) a caution would, before that date, have been treated for the purposes of that Act as spent,

the person or caution concerned is (subject to any order made by virtue of paragraph 4 or 6(1) and (4) of that Schedule to that Act) to be so treated on and after that date.

(5) But—

(a) no person who, immediately before the commencement date—

(i) is treated as a rehabilitated person for the purposes of the Act of 1974 in respect of a conviction, or

(ii) is treated as mentioned in paragraph 3(1) of Schedule 2 to that Act in respect of a caution, and

(b) no conviction or caution which, immediately before the commencement date, is treated for the purposes of that Act as spent,

is to cease to be so treated merely because of section (establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods).

(6) Section (establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods) does not apply in relation to alternatives to prosecution given before the commencement date.

(7) Section (no rehabilitation for certain immigration or nationality purposes) applies in relation to convictions before the commencement date (as well as in relation to convictions on or after that date).

(8) Section (no rehabilitation for certain immigration or nationality purposes) applies as mentioned in subsection (7) above whether or not, immediately before the commencement date—

(a) the person concerned is treated as a rehabilitated person for the purposes of the Act of 1974 in respect of the conviction, or

(b) the conviction is treated for the purposes of that Act as spent.

(9) But section (no rehabilitation for certain immigration or nationality purposes) does not affect—

(a) any proceedings begun, but not completed, before the commencement date,

(b) any applications for immigration or nationality decisions made, but not finally determined, before the commencement date, or

(c) the validity of any proceedings, or any relevant immigration or nationality decision (within the meaning of section 56A of the UK Borders Act 2007) which is made, before the commencement date.

(10) Schedule (rehabilitation of offenders: consequential provision) (consequential provision) has effect.

(11) Any reference in this section to section (establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods) is to be read as including a reference to Schedule (rehabilitation of offenders: consequential provision).

(12) In this section “the commencement date” means such day as may be specified by order of the Secretary of State made by statutory instrument; and different days may be specified for different purposes.”

Insert the following new Schedule—

“Rehabilitation of Offenders: consequential provision Part 1 Rehabilitation of Offenders: general Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974: England and Wales

1 The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is amended as follows.

2 In section 1(4)(a) (references in Act to a conviction) for “Great Britain” substitute “England and Wales”.

3 In section 2(5) (rehabilitation of persons dealt with in service disciplinary proceedings) for “Great Britain” substitute “England and Wales”.

4 Omit section 3 (special provision with respect to certain disposals by children’s hearings under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968).

5 In section 4(1)(a) (effect of rehabilitation) for “Great Britain” substitute “England and Wales”.

6 (1) Section 7 (limitations on rehabilitation under the Act) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (2)(a) for “Great Britain” substitute “England and Wales”.

(3) In subsection (3) for “Great Britain” substitute “England and Wales”.

7 Omit section 8(8) (defamation actions: application of section to Scotland).

8 In section 8A(2)(d) (definition of “caution”) after “Wales” insert “and which is not an alternative to prosecution (within the meaning of section 8AA)”.

9 (1) Section 9 (unauthorised disclosure of spent convictions) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (3) omit “(or, in Scotland, the accused person)”.

(3) In subsection (8) omit “, in England and Wales,”.

10 After section 10(1) (orders) insert—

“(1A) Any power of the Secretary of State to make an order under any provision of this Act includes power—

(a) to make different provision for different purposes, and

(b) to make incidental, consequential, supplementary, transitional, transitory or saving provision.

(1B) The power of the Secretary of State to make an order under section 5(6) includes power to make consequential provision which amends or repeals any provision of this Act or any other enactment.”

11 Omit Schedule 1 (service disciplinary convictions referred to in section 6(6)(bb) of that Act).

Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974: Scotland

12 The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is amended as follows.

13 In section 1(4)(a) (references in Act to a conviction) for “Great Britain” substitute “Scotland”.

14 In section 2(5) (rehabilitation of persons dealt with in service disciplinary proceedings) for “Great Britain” substitute “Scotland”.

15 In section 4(1)(a) (effect of rehabilitation) for “Great Britain” substitute “Scotland”.

16 (1) Section 7 (limitations on rehabilitation under the Act) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (2)(a) for “Great Britain” substitute “Scotland”.

(3) In subsection (3) for “Great Britain” substitute “Scotland”.

17 (1) Section 9 (unauthorised disclosure of spent convictions) is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (3) for “defendant (or, in Scotland, the accused person)” substitute “accused person”.

(3) Omit subsection (8).

Part 2 Rehabilitation of Offenders: consequential repeals

Short title	Extent of repeal
Armed Forces Act 1976	In Schedule 9, paragraph 21.
Criminal Law Act 1977	In section 63(2), the words “Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974;”.
	In Schedule 12, the entry relating to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980	In Schedule 7, paragraph 134.
Armed Forces Act 1981	In Schedule 4, paragraph 2(2).
Criminal Justice Act 1982	In Schedule 14, paragraph 37.
Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982	In Schedule 3, paragraph 49.
Mental Health Act 1983	In Schedule 4, paragraph 39.
Criminal Justice Act 1988	In Schedule 8, paragraph 9(b).
Children Act 1989	In Schedule 14, paragraph 36(7).
Criminal Justice Act 1991	In section 68, paragraph (c) (but not the word “and” at the end of the paragraph).
	In Schedule 8, paragraph 5.
	In Schedule 12, paragraph 22(2).
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994	In Schedule 9, paragraph 11.
	In Schedule 10, paragraph 30.
Armed Forces Act 1996	Section 13(3) and (4).
	Schedule 4.
Crime and Disorder Act 1998	In Schedule 8, paragraph 35.
Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999	In Schedule 4, paragraph 6.
Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000	In Schedule 9, paragraph 48(3) to (10).
	In Schedule 11, paragraph 13.
Criminal Justice and Court Services Act 2000	In Schedule 7, paragraph 49.
Criminal Justice Act 2003	In Part 1 of Schedule 32, paragraph 18(3).
Armed Forces Act 2006	In Schedule 16, paragraphs 65(4) to (8) and 66.
Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008	In Part 1 of Schedule 4, paragraph 21.
	In Schedule 10, paragraphs 2 and 5.
Policing and Crime Act 2009	Section 18(2).”

Page 114, line 3, after “59(2)),” insert—

“( ) sections (no rehabilitation for certain immigration or nationality purposes) and (transitional and consequential provision: Chapter 7A),”

Page 114, line 6, at end insert “, subject to subsections (5A) and (6).

(5A) In Chapter 7A of Part 3—

(a) section (establishment or alteration of rehabilitation periods) extends to England and Wales only,

(b) paragraphs 1 to 11 of Schedule (rehabilitation of offenders: consequential provision) extend to England and Wales only,

(c) paragraphs 12 to 17 of that Schedule extend to Scotland only, and

(d) Part 2 of that Schedule extends to England and Wales only.”

Line 9, after “cautions;” insert “to make provision about the rehabilitation of offenders;”