Vote Bundle Text (930227-05)

Amendments proposed to the Criminal Justice Bill - continued	House of Commons

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Increase in sentences for illegal trade in endangered species

John Mann

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) In sections 1(6) and 4(5) of the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 1976, for the word "two" in each place where it appears there is substituted "five".

(2) In regulations 3(1), 3(2)(b), 4(1)(b), 4(2)(b), 4(3)(b), 6(b), 7(2)(b), 8(8)(b) and 9(7)(b) of the Control of Trade in Endangered Species (Enforcement) Regulations 1997 for the word "two" in each place where it appears there is substituted "five".'.

Offences in connection with reporting

Mr Dominic Grieve
Mr Humfrey Malins
Mr Mark Francois

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

'( ) Any person knowingly disclosing information concerning matters in section 69(1) and (2) shall be guilty of an indictable only offence punishable on indictment by 10 years imprisonment.'.

Nature of offence

Mr Dominic Grieve
Mr Humfrey Malins
Mr Mark Francois

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

'The requirement of this section is met if—

(1) the offence in question involves very serious violence or the threat of very serious violence; and

(2) the acquitted person presents a risk to public safety.'.

Lord Chancellor and Ministry of Justice

Mr Graham Allen

NC4

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) References in this Act to "the Lord Chancellor" shall include references to any member of the Cabinet who has been appointed to carry out the functions of the Lord Chancellor under this Act.

(2) Any member of the Cabinet who carries out the functions of the Lord Chancellor under this Act shall not also serve as a member of the judiciary or as a presiding officer of the House of Lords.'.

Power to increase fine

Mr Graham Allen

NC5

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) This section applies where a court has fixed the amount of a fine and the fine has not been paid in full.

(2) If it becomes known to the court that the offender has a higher weekly disposable income or readily available capital than was known to it when it fixed the level of the fine it may increase the level of the fine.'.

Release before end of sentence

Mr David Cameron

NC10

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) No prisoner should be released on licence or probation or be granted any other form of permanent release until they have reached the end of their sentence, save as in subsection (2) below.

(2) The prison governor, or relevant authority in each prison, should be able to reduce a prisoner's sentence by up to 10 per cent. of the total, as a reward for good behaviour.

(3) These provisions only apply to sentences passed by courts in England and Wales after 31st December 2003.'.

Custodial sentences for burglars

Mr David Cameron

NC11

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) Anyone convicted of the offence of burglary should be sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison, save for the exceptions given in subsection (2) below.

(2) The court may disregard the mandatory custodial sentence for burglars in subsection (1) above if, and only if—

(a) it is the individual's first conviction for burglary; and

(b) the court judges that the case includes exceptional circumstances, as in subsection (3) below.

(3) "Exceptional circumstances" includes—

(a) that the court judges that the defendant is unlikely to re-offend; and

(b) that the offence for which the defendant is found guilty does not include any violent or threatening behaviour or other aggravating features.'.

Limits on the reduction of custodial sentences by the Court of Appeal

Mr David Cameron

NC12

To move the following Clause:—

'Where—

(a) a custodial sentence of four years or less has been passed in a Crown court or a magistrates court; and

(b) where that sentence is appealed against to the Court of Appeal; and

the maximum reduction that may be made by the Court of Appeal is 10 per cent. of the original sentence.'.

Duty of Probation Officers to consult with magistrates (No. 2)

Mr Graham Allen

NC14

To move the following Clause:—

'It shall be the duty of the chief officer of each probation area to establish consultation arrangements with local magistrates' courts committees and local communities, to assist the probation service in the performance of its duties of reducing offending and supervising offenders in the community.'.

Reports to households on the operation of the criminal justice system

Mr Graham Allen

NC15

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State may by order require police forces, the prison service, the probation service, judges and lay justices to make joint arrangements for the dissemination to each household in any local area of such information and statistics about the criminal justice system as he may direct.'.

Office of Criminal Justice

Mr Graham Allen

NC16

To move the following Clause:—

'The Secretary of State and the Lord Chancellor shall appoint and pay out of money provided by Parliament an Office of Criminal Justice with the duty of inspecting the performance of the criminal justice system and making proposals for its improvement.'.

Duty of prison to rehabilitate

Mr Graham Allen

NC17

To move the following Clause:—

'It shall be the duty of the prison service to encourage the reform and rehabilitation of offenders, in particular through education and the development of social, emotional and behavioural skills, and to identify and account for the resources it specifically provides for this purpose.'.

Personal plans for prisoners

Mr Graham Allen

NC18

To move the following Clause:—

'It shall be the duty of the prison service to prepare a personal plan for each offender serving a sentence of over 12 months, setting objectives for his rehabilitation and reform. It shall be the duty of any person making or considering recommendations for the early release of any prisoner to take into account his achievement of the personal plan prepared in pursuance of this section.'.

Adjustment of fines in line with inflation

Mr Graham Allen

NC22

To move the following Clause:—

'All fines operative under current statutes shall be automatically adjusted in line with inflation each year, and be rounded down to the appropriate £10 unit, with the date of coming into force of this section as the base line for calculation.'.

Welfare of detained children

Mr Graham Allen

NC23

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) It shall be the duty of—

(a) the governor or controller of any institution in which persons under the age of 18 years are detained, and

(b) any person who is responsible for the detention of any such young persons,

to safeguard and promote the welfare of such young persons.

(2) Where a young person under the age of 18 years is detained, whether pursuant to a conviction or otherwise, the local authority in whose area the young person is detained shall take such steps as are reasonably practicable to enable them to determine whether the child's welfare is adequately safeguarded and promoted.

(3) Where a local authority is of the opinion that there has been a failure to comply with subsection (1) in relation to a child detained within their area they shall notify the Secretary of State.

(4) Any person authorised by a local authority may, for the purpose of enabling the authority to discharge its duties under this section, enter at any reasonable time any place within its area in which young people are detained.

(5) Any person who intentionally obstructs another in the exercise of any power conferred by this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.'.

Powers of confiscation

Mr David Cameron

NC24

To move the following Clause:—

'(1) A police constable shall have specific powers to confiscate certain substances, including alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis and other controlled drugs, when in a public place, in order to help maintain public order and decency, as follows.

(2) The powers under subsection (1) include:

(a) the power to confiscate cannabis from anyone in a public place who is either smoking, selling or openly carrying it;

(b) the power to confiscate cigarettes from anyone who is, or appears to be, under the age of 16 who is either smoking or openly carrying them;

(c) the power to confiscate alcohol from anyone under the age of 18 who is either drinking it, selling it or openly carrying it; and

(d) the power to confiscate alcohol from anyone in a public place who is causing a public nuisance.'.

Excluding the civil liability of the victims of crime

Mr Dominic Grieve
Mr Humfrey Malins
Mr Mark Francois

NC26

To move the following Clause:—

'.—(1) A person who has been convicted of a criminal offence before a relevant court shall have no civil action for damages in respect of personal injury caused by the victim of the offence for which that person has been convicted.

(2) Subsection (1) shall only apply to personal injuries caused during the circumstances of the offence for which the person was convicted.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (1) "victim" is defined as any person natural or corporate—

(i) whose interests were affected or threatened by the relevant offender, or

(ii) who believed on reasonable grounds that their interests were affected or threatened by the relevant offender;

(iii) who was, at the time of the offence, a servant or agent of any person falling within paragraphs (i) or (ii) and who either knew or reasonably believed that the person's interests were so affected or threatened by the relevant offender.

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3) "interests" includes—

(i) any proprietary interest;

(ii) a personal interest in avoiding physical injury.

(5) For the purpose of subsection (1) "damages in respect of personal injury" shall be defined to include all consequential loss suffered by the offender.'.