S.C.F.
NOTICES OF AMENDMENTS
given up to and including
Thursday 9th March 2000
Mr Charles Clarke
That, during proceedings on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill, the Committee do meet on Tuesdays at half-past Ten o'clock and at half-past Four o'clock and on Thurdays at Nine o'clock and at half-past Two o'clock.
New Amendments handed in are marked thus *
STANDING COMMITTEE F
REGULATION OF INVESTIGATORY POWERS BILL
NOTE
The Amendments have been arranged in accordance with the Order to be proposed by Mr Charles Clarke.
Mr Charles Clarke
To move, That the Bill be considered in the following order, namely, Clauses 1 to 46, Schedule 1, Clauses 47 to 56, Schedule 2, Clauses 57 to 72, Schedules 3 and 4, Clause 73, New Clauses, New Schedules.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
1
Clause 1, page 1, line 10, after 'intentionally', insert 'or recklessley'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
2
Clause 1, page 1, line 16, after 'intentionally', insert 'or recklessly'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
3
Clause 1, page 2, line 6, leave out 'or implied'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
4
Clause 2, page 4, line 39, after 'is', insert 'reasonably'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
5
Clause 3, page 5, line 19, leave out ', or which that person has reasonable grounds for believing'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
6
Clause 3, page 5, line 26, after 'interception', insert ', or the communication is one which that person has reasonable grounds for believing is one sent by, or intended for, a person who has consented to the interception;'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
10
Clause 4, page 6, line 24, at end insert 'under the affirmative resolution procedure'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
8
Clause 4, page 6, line 25, leave out subsection (2) and insert—
'(2) Subject to subsection (3), conduct by any person consisting in the interception of a communication in the course of its transmission by means of a telecommunications system is authorised by this section in so far as it constitutes a legitimate practice reasonably required for the purpose, in connection with the carrying on of any business, or monitoring or keeping a record of—
(a) communications by means of which transactions are entered into in the course of that business; or
(b) other communications relating to the business or taking place in the course of its being carried on.'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
7
Clause 4, page 6, leave out lines 25 to 32.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
11
Clause 4, page 6, line 25, at end insert 'under the affirmative resolution procedure'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
9
Clause 4, page 6, line 34, leave out 'any regulations under'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
13
Clause 5, page 8, line 24, after 'warrant', insert 'provided that the same is proportionate to what is sought to be achieved by the conduct expressly authorised or required by the warrant'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
12
Clause 5, page 8, line 24, after 'is', insert 'reasonably'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
15
Clause 6, page 9, leave out lines 4 and 5 and insert—
'(k) a Permanent Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Social Security.'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
14
Clause 6, page 9, leave out lines 4 and 5.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
16
Clause 6, page 9, line 9, after 'order', insert 'under the affirmative resolution procedure'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
18
*Clause 12, page 14, line 31, at end insert—
'(6A) Before giving a notice for the purposes of subsection (2) the Secretary of State shall obtain a certificate of technical approval from The Technical Approval Board.'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
19
*Clause 12, page 14, line 47, at end add—
'(9) In this section "a certificate of technical approval" means a certificate in writing given by The Technical Approval Board to the effect that the steps specified or described in the notice would be—
(a) technically competent for the purpose set out in subsection (1); and
(b) proportionate thereto.'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
20
*Clause 21, page 23, line 46, at end insert—
'(4A) Where it appears to the designated person that a postal or telecommunications operator is not or may not be in possession of, but is or may be capable of obtaining any communications data, the designated person shall not give a notice under subsection (4) unless he has obtained a certificate of technical capability from The Technical Approval Board.'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
21
*Clause 21, page 23, line 46, at end insert—
'(4B) In this section "a certificate of technial capability" means a certificate in writing given by The Technical Approval Board to the effect that the postal or telecommunications operator—
(a) is technically capable of obtaining the communications data, or
(b) could be technically capable of obtaining the communications data, if certain steps were taken and
(i) specifies or describes such steps; and
(ii) certifies that the taking of such steps would be proportionate to what is sought to be achieved by so obtaining the data.'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
23
*Schedule 1, page 78, line 22, leave out from 'office' to end of line 24.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
24
*Schedule 1, page 78, line 28, leave out from 'warrant' to 'contained'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
25
*Schedule 1, page 78, line 31, leave out 'or authorisation'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
26
*Schedule 1, page 78, line 33, leave out 'or authorisation'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
27
*Schedule 1, page 78, leave out lines 45 to 47.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
28
*Schedule 1, page 79, leave out lines 7 to 18.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
29
*Schedule 1, page 79, leave out line 23.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
30
*Schedule 1, page 79, line 24, leave out 'any resident magistrate' and insert 'a county court judge'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
31
*Schedule 1, page 79, line 26, leave out 'or of a justice of the peace'.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
32
*Schedule 1, page 80, leave out lines 1 to 31.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
33
*Schedule 1, page 81, leave out lines 1 to 36.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
17
Page 49, line 12, leave out Clause 49.
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
22
*Clause 71, page 75, line 7, at end insert '"technical obligations under this Act" means steps to be specified or described in a notice pursuant to section 12(2) and steps needed to be taken pursuant to section 21(4) in order to be capable of obtaining any communications data.'.
NEW CLAUSES
Offences
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
NC1
To move the following Clause:—
'.—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a) with intent to impede access to protected information or the putting of that information into an intelligible form, he fails to comply, in accordance with any section 46 notice, with a requirement of that notice to disclose a key to protected information; and
(b) he is a person who has possession of the key.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a) he fails to comply, in accordance with any section 46 notice, with a requirement of that notice to disclose a key to protected information;
(b) he is a person who has had possession of the key, but that key was not in his possession after the giving of the notice and before the time by which he was required to disclose it; and
(c) with intent to impede access to protected information or the putting of that information into an intelligible form, that he did not, before that time, make a disclosure, to the person to whom he was required to disclose the key, of all such information in his possession as was required by that person to enable possession of the key to be obtained.
(3) In proceedings against any person for an offence under this section it shall be a defence (subject to subsection (4)) for that person to show—
(a) that it was not reasonably practicable for him to make a disclosure of the key before the time by which he was required to do so;
(b) where the key was not in his possession at that time, that it was not reasonably practicable for him, before that time, to make such a disclosure as is mentioned in subsection (2)(c); and
(c) that as soon after that time as it was reasonably practicable for him to make a disclosure of the key or (if earlier) of sufficient information to enable possession of the key to be obtained, he made such a disclosure to the person to whom he was required to disclose the key.
(4) Except in a case where there is no authorisation for the purposes of section 47, in proceedings for an offence under this section a person shall have a defence under subsection (3) only if he also shows that it was not reasonably practicable for him to comply with the requirement in the manner allowed by that section.
(5) In proceedings against any person for an offence under this section it shall be a defence for that person to show that—
(a) at all material times he used due diligence to store the key which he had or had had in his possession; and
(b) that where the key was not in his possession after the giving of the notice and before the time by which he was required to disclose it, that he did before that time, make a disclosure to the person to whom he was required to disclose the key, of all such information to his possession as was required by that person to enable possession of the key to be obtained.
(6) Where a person is being proceeded against for an offence under this section, then at any stage of the proceedings, if evidence has been given of his having failed to comply with any requirement of a section 46 notice to disclose a key to protected information, the following evidence shall be admissible for the purpose of proving that he had an intention to impede access to protected information or the putting of that information into an intelligible form:—
(a) evidence that he has or has had in his possession other information of value on grounds falling within section 46(3) or likely to be of value for purposes connected with the exercise or performance by any pubilc authority of any statutory power or statutory duty; and
(b) provided that seven days notice in writing has been given to him of the intention to prove the conviction, evidence that he has within the [five] years preceding the date of the offence charged been convicted of any offence carrying a maximum sentence on conviction on indictment of five years imprisonment or more.
(7) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years or to a fine, or to both;
(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.'.
Technical Approval Board
Miss Ann Widdecombe
Mr Oliver Heald
NC2
*To move the following Clause:—
'The Secretary of State shall appoint to a Technical Approval Board—
(a) Six representatives of persons appearing to him to be likely to be subject to technical obligations under this Act; and
(b) such persons with statutory functions in relation to persons falling within paragraph (a).'.
