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Amendments made: No. 91, in page 192, line 18, leave out "for" and insert "by".
No. 92, in page 192, line 18, leave out "help him" and insert—
'he knows or suspects may help another'.—[Mr. Bob Ainsworth.]
Clause 330
Amendments made: No. 93, in page 192, line 38, at end insert—
'(c) subsection (5A) applies to him.
(5A) This subsection applies to a person if—
(a) he does not know or suspect that another person is engaged in money laundering, and
(b) he has not been provided by his employer with such training as is specified by the Secretary of State by order for the purposes of this section.'.
No. 94, in page 193, line 16, leave out "a view to" and insert "the intention of".—[Mr. Bob Ainsworth.]
Clause 331
Amendment made: No. 95, in page 193, line 42, leave out "a view to" and insert "the intention of".—[Mr. Bob Ainsworth.]
'(1) The Secretary of State must prepare a code of practice as to the exercise by the Director and appropriate officers of functions they have under this Chapter.
(2) After preparing a draft of the code the Secretary of State—
(a) must publish the draft;
(b) must consider any representations made to him about the draft;
(c) may amend the draft accordingly.
(3) After the Secretary of State has proceeded under subsection (2) he must lay the code before Parliament.
(4) When he has done so the Secretary of State may bring the code into operation on such day as he may appoint by order.
(5) The Director must comply with a code of practice which is in operation under this section in the exercise of any function he has under this Chapter.
(6) An appropriate officer must comply with a code of practice which is in operation under this section in the exercise of any function he has under this Chapter.
(7) If the Director or an appropriate officer fails to comply with any provision of such a code of practice he is not by reason only of that failure liable in any criminal or civil proceedings.
(8) But the code of practice is admissible in evidence in such proceedings and a court may take account of any failure to comply with its provisions in determining any question in the proceedings.
(9) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise a code previously brought into operation under this section; and the preceding provisions of this section apply to a revised code as they apply to the code as first prepared.
(10) The following provisions do not apply to an appropriate officer in the exercise of any function he has under this Chapter—
(a) section 67(9) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (c. 60) (application of codes of practice under that Act to persons other than police officers);
(b) Article 66(8) of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/1341 (N.I. 12)) (which makes similar provision for Northern Ireland).'.—[Mr. Bob Ainsworth.]
Brought up, and read the First time.
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): With this it will be convenient to discuss the following: Government new clause 12—Code of Practice (No. 2).
New clause 8—Investigations: anonymity of Agency staff and others—
'(1) Where the Director is satisfied that there is good reason to believe that the conduct of an investigation or the safety of a nominated officer might be prejudiced if the identity of that officer were known, he may determine that the nominated officer shall have the benefit of anonymity.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a nominated officer is—
(a) a member of staff of the Agency, or
(b) an accredited financial investigator.
(3) Where, apart from this section, a nominated officer may be required for the purpose of exercising his functions in the conduct of an investigation to produce or show any written authority or otherwise to identify himself, a nominated officer with benefit of anonymity shall—
(a) not be required to produce or show any such authority or to so identify himself for the purpose of exercising his functions, and
(b) be accompanied by a constable who shall, on request by a person affected, identify himself as a constable and state that he is accompanied by a nominated officer.
(4) Where a nominated officer with benefit of anonymity exercises his functions in the conduct of an investigation in writing, such function shall be exercised in the name of the Agency and not in the name of the nominated officer with benefit of anonymity.
(5) Any document relating to proceedings arising out of an investigation where a nominated officer had benefit of anonymity shall not reveal the identity or address of a nominated officer with benefit of anonymity.
(6) For the purposes of this section, "investigation" means any investigation specified in section 336 other than a money laundering investigation.'.
New clause 9—Offence of prejudicing investigation by identifying nominated officer with benefit of anonymity—
'(1) This section applies if a person knows or suspects that a nominated officer has the benefit of anonymity for the purposes of section [Investigations: anonymity of Agency staff and others].
(2) A person commits an offence if he publishes or causes to be published—
(a) the fact that an individual is or was a nominated officer with the benefit of anonymity,
(b) the fact that an individual is a member of the family of a person who is or was a nominated officer with the benefit of anonymity, or
(c) the address of any place as being the address where an individual who is or was a nominated officer with the benefit of anonymity or a member of the family of a person who is or was a nominated officer with the benefit of anonymity resides.
(3) A person does not commit an offence under subsection (2) if—
(a) he does not know or suspect that the identification of a nominated officer with benefit of anonymity is likely to prejudice the investigation, or
(b) the identification is made in the exercise of a function under this Act or any other enactment relating to criminal conduct or benefit from criminal conduct or in compliance with a requirement imposed under or by virtue of this Act.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to both, or
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine or to both.'.
Amendment No. 63, in clause 337, page 197, line 18, leave out "a civil recovery investigation".
Amendment No. 67, in clause 352, page 206, line 11, leave out "either".
Amendment No. 66, in page 206, line 11, leave out "or at once".
Government amendments Nos. 98 and 99.
Amendment No. 167, in clause 384, page 222, line 3, leave out "either".
Amendment No. 166, in page 222, line 3, leave out "or at once".
Amendment No. 73, in clause 447, page 258, line 15, after "295(4)", insert ", 359(4)".
Government amendments Nos. 251 and 103.
Amendment No. 75, in page 258, line 26, after "295(4)", insert ", 359(4)".
Mr. Ainsworth: Well done, Mr. Deputy Speaker.
New clause 4 requires the Secretary of State to issue a statutory code of practice on the exercise of the investigation powers in chapter 2 of part 8. It will provide guidance on how the use of such powers on confiscation, civil recovery and money-laundering investigations is to be conducted by the director. New clause 12 provides for a similar code for Scotland.
We acknowledge that the powers contained in part 8 are fairly intrusive. None the less, we believe that such powers are fully justified, because without them it is unlikely that the director of the new agency or others involved in law enforcement would be able to make any substantial improvement in asset recovery.
Similar schemes in other legislation include codes of practice to ensure that there is a measure of control. The code will be published in draft, put out for consultation and laid before both Houses and the Scottish Parliament. Any breach of the code would be admissible as evidence in criminal and civil proceedings.
It is entirely sensible to have a code that supports and guides the investigation powers in part 8. We intend that it should offer clear and helpful guidance on how the functions vested in the director and accredited financial investigators should be conducted. It will also be used as a safeguard to ensure that the powers are operated consistently.
Government amendments Nos. 102 and 103 provide that the order that brings the code of practice into operation will be subject to the affirmative procedure.
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